Patent ID: 7801610

Claim:
A method, comprising: delivering an atrial pacing pulse and a ventricular pacing pulse during a first paced cardiac cycle; timing a post ventricular atrial refractory period (PVARP) following the ventricular pacing pulse; determining if the atrial pacing pulse captures the atrium; scheduling delivery of a second atrial pacing pulse in a second cardiac cycle that occurs next after the first paced cardiac cycle; and in response to a determination that the atrial pacing pulse did not capture the atrium: sensing an atrial depolarization occurring after delivery of the first paced cardiac cycle; determining whether the atrial depolarization occurs during or after the PVARP; in response to a determination that the atrial depolarization occurred during the PVARP, initiating retrograde management, to avoid retrograde conduction in subsequent cardiac cycles, by delaying a next scheduled atrial pacing pulse if the next scheduled atrial pacing pulse is scheduled to occur when the atrial tissue is refractory; and in response to a determination that the atrial depolarization occurred after the PVARP, initiating pacemaker mediated tachyarrhythmia (PMT) management, to avoid PMT in subsequent cardiac cycles, by extending a subsequent PVARP of the second cardiac cycle.