Patent ID: 7313439

Claim:
A method of automatically predicting the occurrence of arrhythmias in a patient for use in a medical device, comprising: monitoring a heart rate; determining the heart rate corresponding to a plurality of predetermined time periods, wherein the plurality of predetermined time periods include a first time period corresponding to the patient being asleep and a second time period corresponding to physical activity of the patient; predicting an arrhythmia event in response to the determined heart rates; delivering a preventative therapy in response to the predicted arrhythmia event; monitoring physical activity of the patient; comparing the determined heart rate corresponding to the first time period and the determined heart rate according to the second time period; and determining whether the determined heart rate corresponding to the first time period is greater than a first threshold and whether the determined heart rate according to the second time period is greater than a second threshold, wherein predicting an arrhythmia event includes predicting an arrhythmia event in response to the determined heart rate corresponding to the first time period being greater than the determined heart rate according to the second time period, and the determined heart rate corresponding to the first time period being greater than the first threshold and the determined heart rate according to the second time period being greater than the second threshold.