Patent ID: 6928324

Claim:
An implantable cardiac stimulation device for implantation in a body comprising: a metabolic demand sensor that is capable of sensing a parameter indicative of the body's metabolic demand; an activity sensor that is capable of sensing a parameter indicative of physical activity of the body; circuitry connected to the respective sensors and that is operative to process signals from the respective sensors to detect a sleep apnea condition; one or more pulse generators that are capable of generating cardiac pacing pulses, wherein the circuitry is responsive to the detected sleep apnea condition to control the one or more pulse generators to generate cardiac pulses with a timing that tends to terminate the detected sleep apnea condition; and a neurostimulator coupled to respiratory muscles of the body's upper airways or diaphragm, the neurostimulator being adapted to generate neurostimulation pulses for terminating the detected sleep apnea condition if the generated cardiac pacing pulses fail to terminate the detected sleep apnea condition.