Patent ID: 7577480

Claim:
A method of reducing polarization on an implanted electrode used for electrically stimulating cardiac tissue, comprising: a) providing an implantable medical device used for electrically stimulating cardiac tissue via one or more electrodes and used for sensing cardiac signals emanating from the cardiac tissue via one or more sense amplifiers; b) delivering an electrical stimulation pulse generated by the device to the cardiac tissue via one of the electrodes; c) delivering an electrical recharge pulse generated by the device to the cardiac tissue via the one of the electrodes, the electrical recharge pulse for minimizing polarization on the one of the electrodes resulting from the electrical stimulation pulse; d) sensing the polarization on the one of the electrodes after delivery of the electrical recharge pulse; e) determining whether the magnitude of the sensed polarization is within a predetermined desirable range; f) calculating an adjustment amount for the electrical recharge pulse if the sensed polarization is not within the predetermined desirable range, the adjustment amount being based on the sensed polarization and calculated towards minimizing the sensed polarization; and g) adjusting the electrical recharge pulse by the calculated adjustment amount for a subsequent electrical recharge pulse to improve the minimization of the polarization resulting from a subsequent electrical stimulation pulse.