Patent ID: 8718767

Claim:
An implantable cardiac stimulating device comprising: a lead connector connectable to an atrial lead having at least one electrode and a multi-electrode ventricular lead having at least three spatially separated electrodes along a distal portion of the multi-electrode ventricular lead; an atrial pulse generator connected to the lead connector and configured to generate atrial stimulating pulses; an atrial sensing unit connected to the lead connector and configured to sense electric events in an atrium of a heart; a ventricular pulse generator connected to the lead connector and configured to generate ventricular stimulating pulses; a ventricular sensing unit connected to the lead connector and configured to individually sense electric events in a ventricle of the heart using multiple, different pairs of electrodes of the multi-electrode ventricular lead; and a controller connected to the atrial pulse generator, the atrial sensing unit, the ventricular pulse generator and the ventricular sensing unit, the controller configured to blank the ventricular sensing unit during a blanking period following delivery of an atrial stimulating pulse by the atrial pulse generator and activate the ventricular sensing unit at expiry of the blanking period to enable the ventricular sensing unit to detect a premature ventricular contraction, PVC, depolarization wave traveling over the ventricle using at least one electrode pair of the multiple, different pairs of electrodes, wherein the PVC depolarization wave is initiated at a ventricular site during the blanking period; wherein the multi-electrode ventricular lead is a quadropolar ventricular lead having a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode and a fourth electrode; and wherein the ventricular sensing unit is configured to individually sense electronic events in the ventricle using a first electrode pair comprising the first electrode and the second electrode, individually sense electronic events in the ventricle using a second electrode pair comprising the second electrode and the third electrode, individually sense electronic events in the ventricle using a third electrode pair comprising the third electrode and the fourth electrode.