Abstract: The cardiac output of a paced heart is optimized by measuring a parameter indicative of the volume of blood in a heart chamber as a function of a pacing parameter. The pacing parameter is adjusted so that the heart pumps the maximum volume at different rates for hearts with debilitating pathologies. This pacing parameter is then used for controlling the pacing pulses for pacing the heart. Preferably the volume parameter is the paced depolarization integral and the pacing parameter is the A-V delay.

Abstract: A P-wave detector in a single chamber ventricular cardiac pacemaker, which is adapted to perform VDD pacing, senses natural atrial activity in the form of P-waves from a standard lead implanted in the ventricle of the heart. The P-wave detector is electrically coupled to a ventricular sensing lead and, although the electrode of the lead is implanted in the ventricle, circuitry within the pacemaker perceives intrinsic cardiac electrical activity arising from all parts of the heart. The P-wave detector is adapted to differentiate P-wave signals arising within the atrium from other cardiac and non-cardiac signals using template matching techniques in which an acquired signal is compared with a previously stored P-wave template.

Abstract: In an implantable antiarryhythmia pacemaker, an automatic cardiac arrhythmia detection and classification monitoring apparatus and method for measuring stimulated intracardiac electrogram potentials, deriving therefrom a paced depolarization integral (PDI), analyzing time-based changes in the PDI, detecting and classifying harmful cardiac rhythms while distinguishing harmful from benign tachycardias, and automatically establishing and initiating an appropriate therapy, if necessary, to revert the arrhythmia condition.

Abstract: An implanted programmable ambulatory electrocardiography (AECG) patient monitoring device that senses and analyzes electrocardiographic signals from at least one subcutaneous precordial sensor chronically and frequently to detect electrocardiogram and physiological signal characteristics predictive of malignant cardiac arrhythmias. The device includes telemetric capabilities to communicate a warning signal to an external device when such arrhythmias are predicted.