Apparatus and method for stabilizing the ventricular rate of a heart during atrial fibrillation
US5480413A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/36521
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A pacemaker is provided in which ventricular rate instability is detected and automatically corrected by gradually increasing the ventricular pacing rate. Once the ventricle is stabilized, its pacing rate is gradually decreased as much as possible without losing ventricular stability. Ventricular instability can be a result of an atrial tachyrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. Therefore, if the pacemaker is a dual chamber pacemaker, its operation is switched to a single chamber pacing mode thereby decoupling the ventricular pacing signals from the atrial pacing signals and atrial triggered ventricular pacing is inhibited until the atrial fibrillation terminates.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.