Tracking progression of congestive heart failure via a force-frequency relationship
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- a transducer configured to measure a heart sound characteristic of a heart;
a control circuit configured to;
receive the heart sound characteristic;
determine a contractility characteristic of the heart using the measured heart sound characteristic;
determine a corresponding heart rate indicating how frequently the heart is contracting;
alter a pacing rate to determine and store in a memory device a group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs over a range of heart rates, the group of pairs over the range of heart rates defining a force-frequency relationship for the heart; and
determine a slope for at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs based, at least in part, on at least one of a linear regression and a curve fit performed on the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs;
a stimulating circuit coupled to the control circuit, the stimulating circuit configured to deliver, in response to a control signal from the control circuit upon the control circuit determining the slope, stimulating signals based, at least in part, on the previously determined slope for the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs.
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Abstract
A system, method, or device monitor a force-frequency relationship exhibited by a patient'"'"'s heart. A contractility characteristic, such as a heart sound characteristic of an S1 heart sound, is measured. The contractility characteristic indicates the forcefulness of a contraction of the heart. The frequency at which the heart is contracting is determined. A group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs is stored in a memory device. The group of pairs defines a force-frequency relationship for the heart. The method may be implemented by an implantable device, or by a system including a implantable device.
116 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a transducer configured to measure a heart sound characteristic of a heart; a control circuit configured to; receive the heart sound characteristic; determine a contractility characteristic of the heart using the measured heart sound characteristic; determine a corresponding heart rate indicating how frequently the heart is contracting; alter a pacing rate to determine and store in a memory device a group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs over a range of heart rates, the group of pairs over the range of heart rates defining a force-frequency relationship for the heart; and determine a slope for at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs based, at least in part, on at least one of a linear regression and a curve fit performed on the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs; a stimulating circuit coupled to the control circuit, the stimulating circuit configured to deliver, in response to a control signal from the control circuit upon the control circuit determining the slope, stimulating signals based, at least in part, on the previously determined slope for the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An implantable medical device comprising:
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a control circuit configured to; receive a heart sound characteristic of a heart; determine a heart rate corresponding to the heart sound characteristic, the heart rate indicating how frequently the heart is contracting; determine a first (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pair at a first pacing rate; determine a second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pair at a second pacing rate, the second pacing rate different than the first pacing rate; store the first and second pairs in a memory device, the first and second pairs each defining a force-frequency relationship of the heart; and determine a slope for the first and second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs based, at least in part, on at least one of a linear regression and a curve fit performed on the first and second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs; a stimulating circuit coupled to the control circuit, the stimulating circuit configured to deliver, in response to a control signal from the control circuit upon the control circuit determining the slope, stimulating signals based, at least in part, on the previously determined slope for at least some of the first and second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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receiving a heart sound characteristic of a heart; determining a corresponding heart rate indicating how frequently the heart is contracting based, at least in part, on the heart sound characteristic; determining a first (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pair at a first pacing rate; determining a second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pair at a second pacing rate; store the first and second pairs in a memory device, the first and second pairs each defining a force-frequency relationship of the heart; determining a slope for the first and second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs based, at least in part, on at least one of a linear regression and a curve fit performed on the first and second (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs; and delivering stimulating signals to the heart based, at least in part, on the previously determined slope. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system comprising:
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an accelerometer configured to receive heart contraction information of a heart and to produce a contractility signal; a control circuit configured to; receive the contractility signal; determine a first contractility characteristic of the heart using the contractility signal; determine a corresponding heart rate indicating how frequently the heart is contracting; and alter a pacing rate to determine and store in a memory device a group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs over a range of heart rates, the group of pairs over the range of heart rates defining a force-frequency relationship for the heart; and determine a slope for at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs based, at least in part, on at least one of a linear regression and a curve fit performed on the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs; a stimulating circuit coupled to the control circuit, the stimulating circuit configured to deliver, in response to a control signal from the control circuit upon the control circuit determining the slope, stimulating signals based, at least in part, on the previously determined slope for the at least some of the group of (contractility characteristic, heart rate) pairs. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification