Claims
- 1. A method including:
detecting, over a time period, intrinsic atrial heart contractions; measuring P-P intervals between the intrinsic atrial heart contractions; calculating beat-to-beat P-P time differences between a pair of successive PP intervals; categorizing the P-P time differences based on at least one of: (1) a magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) an amount of the P-P time difference; storing, over the time period, a categorized count of the P-P time differences; and providing a diagnostic based on the stored categorized count of the P-P time differences.
- 2. The method of claim 1, in which providing the diagnostic includes displaying the P-P time differences as a function of at least one of: (1) the magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) the amount of the P-P time difference.
- 3. The method of claim 1, in which categorizing the P-P time differences includes categorizing the P-P time differences as a function of both of: (1) the magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) the amount of the P-P time difference.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further including adjusting a cardiac rhythm management therapy based on at least one P-P time difference.
- 5. The method of claim 1, further including disposing an atrial electrode in an atrium of a heart.
- 6. A method including:
detecting, over a time period, intrinsic atrial heart contractions; measuring P-P intervals between the intrinsic atrial heart contractions to obtain a time-domain P-P interval signal; and providing an indication associated with a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic components of an autonomic nervous system based on the time-domain P-P interval signal.
- 7. The method of claim 6, in which providing the indication is based on a frequency content of the P-P interval signal.
- 8. The method of claim 7, in which providing the indication is based on a ratio of a low frequency component of the P-P interval signal to a high frequency component of the P-P interval signal.
- 9. The method of claim 7, further including:
filtering the P-P interval signal to obtain a time-domain second signal including frequency components substantially in a first frequency band, wherein the second signal is influenced by both sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous system; filtering the P-P interval signal to obtain a time-domain third signal including frequency components substantially in a second frequency band, wherein the third signal is influenced by the parasympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system and not substantially influenced by the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system; and providing the indication associated with a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous system based on the time-domain second and third signals.
- 10. The method of claim 6, further including disposing an atrial electrode in an atrium of a heart.
- 11. The method of claim 6, further including adjusting a cardiac rhythm management therapy based on at least one P-P time difference.
- 12. A system including:
an atrial electrode configured for being associated with an atrium of a heart; an atrial sense amplifier, including an atrial sense amplifier input coupled to the atrial electrode for receiving, over a time period, intrinsic atrial electrical depolarizations therefrom, and including an atrial sense amplifier output; a P-P interval timer, including a P-P timer input coupled to the atrial sense amplifier output for receiving intrinsic atrial electrical depolarizations, and including a P-P timer output providing a P-P interval between successive atrial heart contractions; a difference circuit, including a difference circuit input coupled to the P-P interval timer, and a difference circuit output providing a P-P time difference between a successive pair of P-P intervals; and a controller, coupled to the P-P timer output for receiving the P-P intervals and also coupled to the difference circuit output for receiving the P-P time differences, the controller categorizing the P-P time differences based on at least one of: (1) a magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) an amount of the P-P time difference.
- 13. The system of claim 12, further including a memory device, coupled to the controller, the memory device storing, over the time period, a categorized count of the P-P time differences.
- 14. The system of claim 13, further including a display, communicatively coupled to the memory device, the display providing information associated with the P-P time differences.
- 15. The system of claim 14, in which the display provides information associated with the categorized count of the P-P time differences displayed as a function of at least one of: (1) the magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) the amount of the P-P time difference.
- 16. The system of claim 15, in which the display provides information associated with the categorized count of the P-P time differences displayed as a function of both of: (1) the magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) the amount of the P-P time difference.
- 17. The system of claim 13, in which the controller categorizes the P-P time differences based on both of: (1) the magnitude of at least one P-P interval in the pair of successive P-P intervals; and (2) the amount of the P-P time difference.
- 18. The system of claim 13, further including a therapy module providing therapy to the heart based on a comparison of an attribute of at least one P-P time difference to a predetermined criterion.
- 19. A system including:
an atrial electrode configured for being associated with an atrium; an atrial sense amplifier, including an atrial sense amplifier input coupled to the atrial electrode for receiving, over a time period, intrinsic atrial electrical depolarizations therefrom, and including an atrial sense amplifier output; a P-P interval timer, including a P-P timer input coupled to the atrial sense amplifier output for receiving intrinsic atrial electrical depolarizations, and including an P-P timer output providing a P-P interval signal based on a P-P interval between successive atrial heart contractions; and an autonomic balance indicator module, coupled to the P-P interval timer and providing an indication of a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic components of an autonomic nervous system based on a frequency component of the P-P interval signal.
- 20. The system of claim 19, further including:
a low frequency (LF) bandpass filter, coupled to the P-P timer output for receiving the P-P interval signal, the LF bandpass filter providing a time-domain LF signal output that is influenced by both the sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous system; a high frequency (HF) bandpass filter, coupled to the P-P timer output for receiving the P-P interval signal, the HF bandpass filter providing a time-domain HF signal output having higher frequency components than the LF signal output, the HF signal output being influenced by the parasympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system and not substantially influenced by the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system; an LF variance module coupled to the LF bandpass filter for receiving the LF signal, the LF variance module providing a resulting LF variance signal; a HF variance module, coupled to the HF bandpass filter for receiving the HF signal, the HF variance module providing a resulting HF variance signal; and wherein the autonomic balance indicator module is coupled to the LF and HF variance modules, and provides an indication of a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous system based on the LF and HF variance signals.
- 21. The system of claim 19, in which the autonomic balance indicator module provides the indication of the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous system based on a ratio of a low frequency component of the P-P interval signal to a high frequency component of the P-P interval signal.
- 22. The system of claim 19, further including a therapy module to a cardiac rhythm management therapy based on at least one P-P time difference.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is a continuation-in-part of Gerrard M. Carlson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/802,316, entitled “Cardiac Rhythm Management System Using Time-Domain Heart Rate Variability Indicia,” filed on Mar. 8, 2001, and assigned to Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This patent application is also related to Gerrard M. Carlson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/704844, entitled “LV Ectopic Density Trending,” filed on Nov. 2, 2000, and assigned to Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09802316 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Child |
09861017 |
May 2001 |
US |