Abstract: The invention provides means and methods for providing a cell with a spontaneous electrical activity and means and methods for increasing the depolarization rate of a cell having a spontaneous electrical activity. Means and methods are provided comprising: providing a cell with a compound capable of providing and/or increasing a pacemaker current If, and diminishing electrical coupling between said cell and surrounding cells and/or reducing the inward rectifier current IK1 of said cell, and or increasing the availability of INa at depolarized potentials, preferably using overexpression of additional sodium channels.

Abstract: A heart pacemaker for generating a heart stimulation signal in the apparent absence of any heart stimulation signal during a given duration of time, includes an interference detecting device for sensing intracardiac voltage signals which generate, respectively, first and second signals.A retriggerable monostable first multivibrator is responsive to a trigger signal, so as to determine a first period of time, and, a second multivibrator is coupled to the first multivibrator, so as to operate for initiating a second period of time; the appearance of the second signals inhibits the heart stimulation signal; the first signal is generated in response to the sensing of one of the intracardiac voltage signals, and the second signals are generated whenever one of the intracardiac voltage signals is not succeeded by another voltage signal during the predetermined first period of time.