Patent ID: 8838237

Claim:
A device for applying an electrical current to a heart, the device comprising: a current source; a plurality of leads which are connected to the current source, wherein the leads include first, second, and third leads that are connectable to a right atrium of a heart, a right ventricle of the heart, and a left ventricle of the heart, respectively; wherein each of the leads has at least one electrode and at least one of the leads has at least two electrodes, wherein at least one of the electrodes serves as a cathode and at least one of the electrodes serves as an anode, wherein a surface area of at least one of the electrodes is sized sufficiently small to cause anodal capture, wherein the current source is controlled to deliver solely cathodal stimulation to at least one electrode, wherein at least one other electrode is a return electrode and the stimulation creates an area of hyper-polarization of the myocardial cell membrane and resultant modal capture of a portion of the heart via the return electrode, wherein the return electrode is a pacing electrode, and wherein cathodal stimulation is simultaneous with anodal capture that occurs solely as a consequence of the cathodal stimulation of another electrode.