Patent ID: 7697986

Claim:
A cardiac pacemaker, comprising: at least one stimulation pulse generator to selectively generate stimulation pulses for delivery to an atrium of a heart or to said atrium and a ventricle or two ventricles of said heart; at least one sensing stage configured to process electrical signals picked up by an atrial sensing electrode or a ventricular sensing electrode in order to detect an atrial event or a ventricular event and to generate at least one sensing stage output signal comprising an atrial or a ventricular sense signal upon detection of said atrial event or said ventricular event, respectively; a control unit connected to said at least one stimulation pulse generator and to said at least one sensing stage and wherein said control unit is configured to respond to said at least one sensing stage output signal and to trigger said at least one stimulation pulse generator in a regular mode of operation, wherein a scheduled ventricular stimulation pulse having a predetermined intensity causing capture is triggered unless inhibited; wherein said control unit is configured to verify a proper atrioventricular conduction and depending on a presence of acceptable AV conduction to switch from said regular mode of operation, wherein said scheduled ventricular stimulation pulse having said predetermined intensity causing capture is triggered unless inhibited to a ventricular pulse suppression mode of operation wherein no ventricular stimulation pulses or non-effective ventricular stimulation pulses of sub-threshold intensity not causing capture are generated unless inhibited as long as said cardiac pacemaker is in said ventricular pulse suppression mode; and wherein said control unit is configured to maintain a regular DDD timing of triggering of said stimulation pulses including a ventricular escape interval while in said ventricular pulse suppression mode of operation and to trigger a ventricular stimulation of zero or sub-threshold intensity following said ventricular escape interval if said ventricular sense signal is not received during said ventricular escape interval, wherein said ventricular sense signal otherwise is inhibiting a triggering of a ventricular stimulation pulse.