STIMULATOR FOR TREATMENT OF TACHYCARDIA WITH A BURST OF STIMULI HAVING A CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE RATE

• US 3,693,627 A
• Filed: 09/14/1970
• Issued: 09/26/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Warner-Lambert Company (Pfizer Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Barouh V. Berkovits
• Inventors: Berkovits, Barouh V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US05/071,799
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 128/419P,421,422
• US Class Current: 607/15
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/362 Heart stimulators heart defibrillators A61N1/39
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3621 for treating or preventing abnormally high heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37 Monitoring; Protecting

Abstract

An externally activated implantable heart stimulator. Apparatus is disclosed for supplying to the heart of a patient a burst of stimulating pulses having a repetition rate in excess of the physiological heartbeat range of the patient. The stimulator comprises terminals for connection to the heart, a controllable electrical stimuli generator controlled internally by a discharging capacitor and controlled externally by a magnet. The stimulator is particularly applicable to the treatment of paroxysmal supra-ventricular tachycardias, a rapid heartbeat condition originating in the atrium. The stimulator can be temporarily activated by anyone including the patient being stimulated.

Claims

1. A heart stimulator for providing therapeutic treatment of tachycardia by directly stimulating the heart of a patient and interacting with the abnormal spread of an electrical impulse generated in said heart, said stimulator comprising terminal means for connection to the heart of said patient, and pulse generator means for generating at least one burst of more than two electrical stimuli at a continually changing rate above the normal physiological heartbeaT-rate range of said patient, said pulse generator means including means for applying said stimuli to said terminal means.

2. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 1 further comprising control means for controlling duration of operation of said generator means.

3. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 2 and wherein said control means includes manually operable means for causing said pulse generator means to initiate the generation of said stimuli and for causing the termination of said stimuli.

4. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 3 and wherein said manually operable means includes automatic means for automatically terminating the generation of said stimuli after a predetermined time, said automatic means comprising charged capacitor means for discharging through said pulse generator means and for causing the operation of said pulse generator means for the voltage of said capacitor means exceeding a predetermined voltage, said charged capacitor means including an electrically conductive recharge path, and means for recharging said capacitor means via said path.

5. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 4 including means for causing the voltage of said capacitor to exceed said predetermined voltage for said predetermined time.

6. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 3 and wherein said manually operable means comprises a reed switch and a magnet.

7. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 6 and wherein said stimulator, except for said magnet, is implantable within said patient and said magnet is operatively positioned external to said patient.

8. A heart stimulator as recited in claim 6 and wherein said manually operable means further comprises automatic means for automatically terminating the generation of said stimuli after a predetermined time, said automatic means comprising charged capacitor means for discharging through said pulse generator means and for causing the operation of said pulse generator means for the voltage of said capacitor means exceeding a predetermined voltage, said charged capacitor means including an electrically conductive recharge path and means for recharging said capacitor means via said path.