Atrial defibrillator and method for providing pre-cardioversion pacing
First Claim
1. An implantable atrial defibrillator for providing cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion, said atrial defibrillator comprising:
- first detecting means for detecting atrial activity of the heart;
atrial fibrillation detecting means responsive to said first detecting means for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion;
stabilizing means responsive to said atrial fibrillation detecting means for stabilizing the cardiac rate of the heart when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; and
cardioverting means for applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after said stabilizing means has stabilized the cardiac rate for a predetermined number of cardiac cycles.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable atrial defibrillator provides cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion. The atrial defibrillator includes a first detector for detecting atrial activity of the heart and an atrial fibrillation detector responsive to the first detector for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion. The atrial defibrillator further includes a pacing output circuit responsive to the atrial fibrillation detector for pacing the ventricles of the heart at a pacing rate when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion and a cardioverter stage for applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after the pacing output circuit has paced the ventricles for a predetermined number of cardiac cycles. The pacing output circuit stabilizes the cardiac rate of the heart prior to the application of the cardioverting electrical energy.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. An implantable atrial defibrillator for providing cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion, said atrial defibrillator comprising:
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first detecting means for detecting atrial activity of the heart; atrial fibrillation detecting means responsive to said first detecting means for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; stabilizing means responsive to said atrial fibrillation detecting means for stabilizing the cardiac rate of the heart when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; and cardioverting means for applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after said stabilizing means has stabilized the cardiac rate for a predetermined number of cardiac cycles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An implantable atrial defibrillator for providing cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion, said atrial defibrillator comprising:
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first detecting means for detecting atrial activity of the heart; atrial fibrillation detecting means responsive to said first detecting means for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; pacing means responsive to said atrial fibrillation detecting means for pacing the ventricles of the heart at a pacing rate when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; and cardioverting means for applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after said pacing means has paced the ventricles for a predetermined number of paced cardiac cycles. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion, said method including the steps of:
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detecting atrial activity of the heart; determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; stabilizing the cardiac rate of the heart when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; and applying said cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after stabilizing the cardiac rate of the heart for a predetermined number of cardiac cycles. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion, said method including the steps of:
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detecting atrial activity of the heart; determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; pacing the ventricles of the heart at a pacing rate when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion; and applying said cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after pacing the ventricles of the heart for a predetermined number of paced cardiac cycles. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification