Patent ID: 7580748

Claim:
A heart stimulator for stimulating at least a ventricle of a heart comprising: at least one ventricular stimulation pulse generator adapted to generate electric stimulation pulses and wherein said at least one ventricular stimulation pulse generator is connected or connectable to at least one ventricular stimulation electrode configured to deliver said electric stimulation pulses to at least one ventricle of a heart, said at least one ventricular stimulation pulse generator being adapted to generate stimulation pulses that have a strength that depends on a control signal; at least one ventricular sensing stage connected or connectable to an electrode configured to pick up electric potentials inside said at least one ventricle of said heart wherein a time course of said electric potentials represent a heart signal; and, a control unit connected to said at least one ventricular sensing stage and to said at least one ventricular stimulation pulse generator wherein said control unit is adapted to determine points of time to schedule ventricular stimulation pulses, to trigger said at least one stimulation pulse generator so as to deliver a stimulation pulse when scheduled and to put out control signals that control stimulation pulse strength; perform a capture analysis after a delivery of a ventricular stimulation pulse in order to detect either capture of a stimulation pulse that was effective or non-capture of a stimulation pulse that was ineffective, said capture analysis being based on an analysis of said time course of said electric potentials as picked up by said at least one ventricular sensing stage that follows delivery of said stimulation pulse to identify an extraordinary atrial event prior to delivery of said stimulation pulse; identify an extraordinary atrial event prior to delivery of said stimulation pulse through a count of all atrial events that follow a previous ventricular event and that precede said ventricular stimulation pulse that is subject of said capture analysis wherein said extraordinary atrial event is identified if a counted number of atrial events exceeds one; and ignore a result of said capture analysis for said ventricular stimulation pulse that follows the extraordinary atrial event at least with respect to pulse strength adjustment by said control unit.