CARDIAC STIMULATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATMENT OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

摘要

A cardiac stimulation apparatus (100) and multi-electrode pacing lead (14) for prevention or treatment of atrial fibrillation. The multi-electrode lead will distribute electrodes (16) throughout the right atrium to provide a choice of pacing sites at locations best suited to multi-focal control of the rapid atrial heartbeats that may precede atrial fibrillation. Cardiac electrical activity is sensed in four dimensions (three spatial dimensions, X, Y, and Z, and in time). The system triangulates the location of a given event in three spatial dimensions, and then paces the heart in areas that will disrupt the propagation of the arrhythmia. Termination involves delivering low voltage pulses to large areas of the heart, either simultaneously or in rapid sequence.