Patent ID: 7881795

Claim:
A system comprising: an implantable cardiac rhythm management device configured to detect electrocardiogram data of a patient's heart and to provide a cardiac rhythm therapy to a patient; a handheld patient-operated user-interface device, communicatively coupled to the cardiac rhythm management device, the user-interface device configured to deliver a first patient-initiated query command to the cardiac rhythm management device, to receive heart rhythm status information from the cardiac rhythm management device, and to provide the heart rhythm status information to the patient in response to the first query command, the heart rhythm status information including: a normal rhythm indication if the heart rhythm status information is indicative of a normal heart rhythm; an abnormal rhythm indication if the heart rhythm status information is indicative of an abnormal heart rhythm; and wherein the cardiac rhythm management device is configured to record a current heart rhythm in response to the provided abnormal rhythm indication if the abnormal rhythm indication is provided in response to the first query command; and wherein the cardiac rhythm management device is configured to record a current heart rhythm in response to a second patient-initiated query command delivered to the cardiac rhythm management device following the provided normal rhythm indication in response to the first query.