US Patent 9119547 Arrhythmia discrimination based on determination of rate dependency

Cardiac systems and methods provide for discriminating between supraventricular tachyarrhythmia and ventricular tachyarrhythmia based on a determination that the patient's supraventricular rhythm exhibits rate dependency. One approach involves determining if a patient's supraventricular rhythm exhibits rate dependent morphology. If the patient's supraventricular rhythm is determined to exhibit rate dependent morphology, an implantable device classifies a detected tachyarrhythmia episode based on one or more templates selected from a plurality of rate-indexed templates stored in the device. Determining if the supraventricular rhythm exhibits rate dependent morphology may also include determining one or more rates at which the rate dependent morphology occurs.