Techniques for prevention of atrial fibrillation
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- applying an electrical current, at a first strength on average, to a site of a subject containing parasympathetic nervous tissue;
configuring the current to stimulate the nervous tissue in the site;
performing at least one action selected from the group consisting of;
sensing an occurrence of an episode of atrial fibrillation (AF), and predicting an imminent episode of the AF; and
responsively to the performing, applying the current at a second strength on average during a strength reduction period having a duration of at least one minute, which second strength is less than the first strength.
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Abstract
A method is provided, including identifying that a subject is at risk of suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF). Responsively to the identifying, a risk of an occurrence of an episode of the AF is reduced by applying an electrical current to a site of the subject selected from the group consisting of: a vagus nerve, a sinoatrial (SA) node fat pad, a pulmonary vein, a carotid artery, a carotid sinus, a coronary sinus, a vena cava vein, a jugular vein, an azygos vein, an innominate vein, and a subclavian vein, and configuring the current to stimulate autonomic nervous tissue in the site. Other embodiments are also described.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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applying an electrical current, at a first strength on average, to a site of a subject containing parasympathetic nervous tissue; configuring the current to stimulate the nervous tissue in the site; performing at least one action selected from the group consisting of;
sensing an occurrence of an episode of atrial fibrillation (AF), and predicting an imminent episode of the AF; andresponsively to the performing, applying the current at a second strength on average during a strength reduction period having a duration of at least one minute, which second strength is less than the first strength. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Apparatus comprising:
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an electrode device, configured to be coupled to a site of the subject at risk of suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF), the site containing parasympathetic nervous tissue; and a control unit, configured to; drive the electrode device to apply an electrical current to the site at a first strength on average, configure the current to stimulate the nervous tissue in the site, perform at least one action selected from the group consisting of;
sensing an occurrence of an episode of atrial fibrillation (AF), and predicting an imminent episode of the AF, andresponsively to the performance, apply the current at a second strength on average during a strength reduction period having a duration of at least one minute, which second strength is less than the first strength. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification