Patent ID: 8140155

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: at least one implantable cardiac depolarization sensing circuit configured to obtain a sensed depolarization signal from a ventricle; an electrical stimulation circuit, configured to provide pacing electrical stimulation energy to at least one implantable electrode in the ventricle; a memory; and a pacing mode controller communicatively coupled to the cardiac depolarization sensing circuit, the electrical stimulation circuit, and the memory, the pacing mode controller configured to: deliver pacing therapy according to a first mode, wherein the first mode is a normal operating mode; deliver pacing therapy according to a second pacing mode, wherein the second pacing mode increases mechanical stress on at least a particular portion of the ventricle as compared to the pacing therapy delivered during the first pacing mode; deliver pacing therapy according to a third pacing mode different from the second pacing mode, wherein the third pacing mode increases mechanical stress on at least a particular portion of the ventricle as compared to the pacing therapy delivered during the first pacing mode; and alternate between the second and third pacing modes when switched from the normal operating mode to a stress augmentation mode; wherein the memory includes a stress augmentation cycle memory area; and wherein the pacing mode controller is configured to store information related to the stress augmentation mode in the stress augmentation cycle memory area.