In an embodiment herein, an aortopulmonary stimulation method is provided including positioning at least one aortic electrode in or near the aorta, and using the at least one aortic electrode, to deliver stimulation to the aorta to decrease aortic after load.

The illustrated embodiments include an apparatus having a programmable, implantable pacemaker with a controllable pacing rate; and a blood pressure monitoring device having an output communicated to the pacemaker. The pacemaker selectively and automatically modulates pacing rate in response to monitored blood pressure to reduce hypertensive blood pressure in a patient or treatment for DCHF (HPpEF). The embodiments also include a. method tor operating a pacing device to treat drug resistant hypertension which includes the steps of monitoring blood pressure; and controlling rate modulation in the pacing device in response to the monitored blood pressure to selectively prevent excessive pacing to reduce mean arterial blood pressure fay either inhibiting rate modulation in the pacing device or by changing rate modulation parameters.

Provided herein are systems for stimulating cardiac tissue of a patient. The systems include: a pulse generator having a first transmission element for delivering wireless power; a stimulation assembly having a flexible substrate, a second transmission element for receiving the wireless power from the first transmission element of the pulse generator, one or more electrodes attached to the substrate for delivering electrical energy to cardiac tissue, and one or more microcircuits attached to the substrate for delivering electrical energy to the one or more electrodes; and an algorithm having a fibrillation detection algorithm for determining when the one or more electrodes deliver the energy to the cardiac tissue.

A method that electrically stimulates a heart muscle to alter the ejection profile of the heart, to control the mechanical function of the heart and reduce the observed blood pressure of the patient. The therapy may be invoked by an implantable blood pressure sensor associated with a pacemaker like device. In some cases, where a measured pretreatment blood pressure exceeds a treatment threshold, a patient's heart may be stimulated with an electrical stimulus timed relative to the patient's cardiac ejection cycle. This is done to cause dyssynchrony between at least two cardiac chambers or within a cardiac chamber, which alters the patient's cardiac ejection profile from a pretreatment cardiac ejection profile. This has the effect of reducing the patient's blood pressure from the measured pretreatment blood pressure.

A method and apparatus for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure signal in a medical device that includes determining whether the sensed pressure signal is greater than a first pressure threshold, determining a first metric of the pressure signal in response to the sensed pressure signal being greater than the first pressure threshold, determining whether the sensed pressure signal is greater than a second pressure threshold not equal to the first pressure threshold, determining a second metric of the pressure signal in response to the sensed pressure signal being greater than the first pressure threshold, and determining at least one of a systolic pressure or a diastolic pressure, wherein the at least one of a systolic pressure or a diastolic pressure is determined based on the first metric in response to the pressure signal not being greater than the second threshold, and based on the second metric in response to the pressure signal being greater than the second threshold.

Methods and systems for treating cardiac malfunction are disclosed, which according to an embodiment, may involve delivering a stimulation pattern of stimulation pulses to at least one cardiac chamber of a heart, with at least one of the stimulation pulses having a first stimulation setting configured to reduce at least one of end systolic volume (ESV) and end diastolic volume (EDV) in the heart and at least one of the stimulation pulses having a second stimulation setting different from the first stimulation setting, and with the stimulation pattern being configured to reduce the at least one of end systolic volume (ESV) and end diastolic volume (EDV) by at least 5% and maintain the at least one of end systolic volume (ESV) and end diastolic volume (EDV) on average at such reduced volume for a time period of at least one hour.

An implantable system for stimulating a heart contains a processor, a memory, a stimulator, and a first detection unit for detecting a cardiac rhythm disturbance of a cardiac region. The memory includes a computer-readable program, which prompts the processor to carry out the following steps: a) detecting via the first detection unit whether a cardiac rhythm disturbance is present in a cardiac region of a heart of a patient; b) when a cardiac rhythm disturbance is present, selecting a stimulation strategy based on a selection criterion; c) stimulating the cardiac region in which the cardiac rhythm disturbance was detected by way of the stimulator, using the selected stimulation strategy; d) detecting a success and/or an efficiency of the conducted stimulation; e) comparing the success and/or the efficiency to a predefinable success and/or efficiency criterion; and f) if the predefinable success and/or efficiency criterion was not achieved, optimizing the stimulation strategy.

Techniques are described for pacing assistance and automation. For example, a pacing device, such as an external defibrillator, provides electrical stimulations to an external surface of a patient based on a determination as to whether capture has been achieved. The pacing device determines whether capture has been achieved using multiple types of sensor data and/or historical sensor data. These techniques effect a particular treatment (e.g., pacing using an external pacing system) for a medical condition (e.g., bradycardia). In some examples, the pacing device provides notifications to assist with pacing to a healthcare provider that is administering pacing to a patient. Notifications may include an indication that multiple representations corresponding to different biological parameters of a patient may assist with pacing, that the patient has an internal pacemaker, and so forth.

A system and method are provided for determining a pressure associated with a lumen of a body. A wireless sensor is positioned in the lumen of the body. The sensor comprises an LC resonant circuit having a resonant frequency configured to vary in response to changes in pressure in the lumen. One or more sensor calibration parameters are stored at an external base unit. The external based unit generates and transmits an energizing signal. A ring down response is received from the wireless sensor. The system and method determine the resonant frequency of the LC resonant circuit from the ring down response and calculate the pressure in the lumen from the resonant frequency of the LC resonant circuit utilizing the one or more sensor calibration parameters associated with the LC resonant circuit.

Systems and methods are provided for optimizing hemodynamics within a patient's heart, e.g., to improve the patient's exercise capacity. In one embodiment, a system is configured to be implanted in a patient's body to monitor and/or treat the patient that includes at least one sensor configured to provide sensor data that corresponds to a blood pressure within or near the patient's heart; at least one adjustable component designed to cause blood to flow in a direction opposite to the normal direction (regurgitation) within the patient's heart; and a controller configured for adjusting the function of the at least one adjustable component based at least in part on sensor data from the at least one sensor.