Patient identification for the pacing therapy using LV-RV pressure loop
First Claim
1. A method for determining whether a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF) will benefit from pacing therapy, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) measuring right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) pressures;
(b) calculating a value based on the RV and LV pressures; and
(c) determining whether the patient is a responder or a non-responder to pacing therapy based on the value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining whether a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF) will benefit from pacing therapy through the use of an implantable cardiac rhythm management device. A patient'"'"'s right ventricular and left ventricular pressures are measured, and the patient'"'"'s PP_Area is calculated for each normal heartbeat that occurs during the testing period. Depending upon the value of the patient'"'"'s mean PP_Area, it can be determined whether the patient will or will not respond well acutely to pacing therapy. A mean PP_Area value of greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, which is about 0.3, indicates that the patient is a responder to pacing therapy, while a value of less than the predetermined threshold of about 0.3 indicates that the patient is a non-responder.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for determining whether a patient with congestive heart failure (CHF) will benefit from pacing therapy, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) measuring right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) pressures;
(b) calculating a value based on the RV and LV pressures; and
(c) determining whether the patient is a responder or a non-responder to pacing therapy based on the value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for determining whether a patient with CHF will benefit from pacing therapy comprising:
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(a) means for sensing pressure variations in the left and right ventricle of patient'"'"'s heart and producing an electrical signal proportional thereto;
(b) means for converting the electrical signal to a digital quantity;
(c) a microprocessor having a memory for storing samples of the digital quantities over a predetermined time period;
(d) means for determining how many heart beats occur during the predetermined time period;
(e) means for determining whether a heart beat is normal or not;
(f) means for calculating PP_Areas for heart beats occurring during the predetermined time period, and a mean value of the PP_Areas;
(g) means for determining whether the mean PP_Area of a given pacing therapy is above or below a predetermined threshold, as an indicator of whether the patient is a responder or a non-responder to the given pacing therapy. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for determining whether a patient with CHF will benefit from pacing therapy, comprising:
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(a) an implantable electronics module containing a microprocessor and a memory coupled to the microprocessor for storing a program of instructions and calculated operands;
(b) pressure transducers positioned to sense left and right ventricular pressures and for producing electrical signals proportional thereto;
(c) means for applying the electrical signals as digital quantities to the microprocessor;
(d) means responsive to the execution of the program for computing a mean value of pulse pressure areas from the digital quantities over a predetermined time interval; and
(e) means including the microprocessor for determining whether the computed mean value is greater than, equal to or less than a predetermined threshold as an indicator of whether the patient will benefit from pacing therapy.
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Specification