System and method for monitoring patient condition using atrial timing characteristics

摘要

A system and method for using an implantable cardiac stimulation device to monitor a patient for the progress of an existing condition and/or early detection of an emerging condition based, at least in part, on measuring and evaluating the timing characteristics of the patient's atrial activity. The atrial timing characteristics are used as indicators or predictors of conditions of interest, such as heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). In certain implementations, the system can determine discriminating indicators of a predominant underlying cause of a condition, such as between vagal and non-vagal AF, as an indicator of a suggested therapy. The system can store data corresponding to the observed atrial timing for trending analysis as well as transmit data for offline analysis, such as via an external device.

主权项

1. A method of evaluating a patient's condition via use of an implantable cardiac therapy device, the method comprising: sensing a patient's cardiac activity, including activity of the atria, via the therapy device;
determining an interatrial conduction delay via the device; storing the interatrial conduction delay in memory of the device; comparing a record of the interatrial conduction delay over time with a corresponding threshold as a surrogate indicator of atrial fibrillation determining whether any change indicated warrants active notification of the change, and delivering a notification signal to alert at least one of the patient and attending clinical personnel of the indicated change when active notification is warranted; delivering stimulation to the heart by a lead based on the comparison of the record.