Contingent cardio-protection for epilepsy patients

摘要

Disclosed are methods and systems for treating epilepsy by stimulating a main trunk of a vagus nerve, or a left vagus nerve, when the patient has had no seizure or a seizure that is not characterized by cardiac changes such as an increase in heart rate, and stimulating a cardiac branch of a vagus nerve, or a right vagus nerve, when the patient has had a seizure characterized by cardiac changes such as a heart rate increase.

主权项

1. A method of treating a patient having epilepsy comprising:
receiving at least one body data stream; analyzing the at least one body data stream using a seizure detection algorithm to detect whether or not the patient has had an epileptic seizure; receiving a cardiac signal of the patient; analyzing the cardiac signal to determine the patient's heart rate; determining whether said epileptic seizure is characterized by a decrease in the patient's heart rate from a reference value or a normative value; applying a first electrical signal to a vagus nerve of the patient, based on said determination, wherein said determination is that the patient has not had an epileptic seizure, wherein the epileptic seizure is characterized by a decrease in the patient's heart rate, wherein the first electrical signal is not a vagus nerve conduction blocking electrical signal; and applying a second electrical signal to a vagus nerve of the patient, based on said determination, wherein said determination is that the patient has had an epileptic seizure, wherein the epileptic seizure is characterized by a decrease in the patient's heart rate, wherein the second electrical signal is a pulsed electrical signal that blocks action potential conduction in the vagus nerve.