Patent ID: 7043294

Claim:
In an implantable cardiac device, a method for determining heart rate recovery of a patient during exercise, said method comprising: (a) monitoring a changing heart rate of the patient and producing heart rate measurements; (b) recording a monitored heart rate in the implantable cardiac device as a first heart rate when at least one of the following conditions occurs: (i) at least one heart rate measurement exceeds a first heart rate measurement threshold and (ii) an activity level of the patient exceeds a first activity threshold; (c) recording a monitored heart rate in the implantable cardiac device as a second heart rate when at least one of the following conditions occurs: (i) at least one heart rate measurement falls below a second heart rate measurement threshold and (ii) an activity level of the patient falls below a second activity threshold; and (d) using the implantable cardiac device to determine a measure of heart rate recovery based on the first heart rate and the second heart rate and storing the measure of heart rate recovery in the implantable cardiac device.