Patent ID: 8626288

Claim:
A method, comprising: intermittently delivering a sympathetic stimulus, including delivering a sequence of stress-inducing pacing pulses adapted to increase sympathetic tone during the stress-inducing pacing, the sequence of stress-inducing pacing resulting in a parasympathetic reflex after the sequence of stress-inducing pacing; and delivering neural stimulation to elicit a parasympathetic response in a coordinated manner with respect to the sequence of stress-inducing pacing pulses to enhance the parasympathetic reflex after the sequence of stress-inducing pacing, including timing the neural stimulation to elicit the parasympathetic response after the sequence of stress-inducing pacing pulses and concurrent with at least a portion of the parasympathetic reflex to the sequence of stress-inducing pacing to enhance a parasympathetic effect of the parasympathetic reflex.