Patent ID: 7869869

Claim:
An implantable stimulation apparatus comprising: a) a vagal nerve stimulator configured to generate electrical pulses below a cardiac threshold of a heart, wherein the pulses are capable of reducing a defibrillation threshold of the heart; b) a first electrode coupled to the vagal nerve stimulator and configured to transmit electrical pulses to a vagal nerve so as to reduce a defibrillation threshold of the heart; c) a second electrode configured so as to be capable of sensing cardiac activity of the heart; and d) a control circuit coupled to the second electrode and the vagal nerve stimulator, wherein in response to a sensed decrease in beat rate of the heart, the control circuit adjusts the energy parameters of the electrical pulses generated by the vagal nerve stimulator by using the sensed cardiac activity of the heart to select an energy of the electric pulses that is below the cardiac threshold of the heart and effective to reduce the defibrillation threshold of the heart.