Measuring cardiovascular pressure based on patient state

Abstract

A method for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient includes measuring, by pressure sensing circuitry of an implantable pressure sensing device, the cardiovascular pressure of the patient. The method further includes transmitting, via wireless communication circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device, the measured cardiovascular pressure to another device. The method further includes determining, by processing circuitry of the other device, whether a posture of the patient at a time of the measured cardiovascular pressure was a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements. The method further includes determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the posture was the target posture.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient, the method comprising:
 measuring, by pressure sensing circuitry of an implantable pressure sensing device, the cardiovascular pressure of the patient;   transmitting, via wireless communication circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device, the measured cardiovascular pressure to another device;   determining, by processing circuitry of the other device, whether a posture of the patient at a time of the measured cardiovascular pressure was a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements; and   determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the posture was the target posture.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether an activity level of the patient is below a threshold level; and   determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the activity level of the patient is below the threshold level.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether a heart rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the heart rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether a respiration rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the respiration rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 setting, by the processing circuitry of the other device, a timer based on determining that the posture was not the target posture;   at an expiration of the timer, determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether a posture of the patient is the target posture; and   sending a trigger signal, via wireless communication circuitry of the other device, to the implantable pressure sensing device, wherein the implantable pressure sensing device measures the cardiovascular pressure of the patient using the pressure sensing circuitry in response to the trigger signal.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, by processing circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device, that a time of day is within a predetermined window for cardiovascular pressure measurements, wherein measuring the cardiovascular pressure of the patient is in response to determining that the time of day is within the predetermined window. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 transmitting, by wireless communication circuitry of the other device, the measured cardiovascular pressure to a third device;   transmitting, by the wireless communication circuitry of the other device, the time of day to the third device; and   transmitting, by the wireless communication circuitry of the other device, the posture of the patient at the time of day to the third device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 determining whether the posture was the target posture comprises measuring an accelerometer signal; and   the target posture comprises a supine posture, a right-side-down posture when the implantable pressure sensing device is implanted in the left pulmonary artery, or a left-side-down posture when the implantable pressure sensing device is implanted in the right pulmonary artery.   
     
     
         9 . A medical device system for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient, the medical device system comprising:
 an implantable pressure sensing device comprising:
 wireless communication circuitry; 
 pressure sensing circuitry configured to measure the cardiovascular pressure of the patient; and 
 processing circuitry configured to:
 control the pressure sensing circuitry to measure the cardiovascular pressure of the patient; and 
 transmit the measured cardiovascular pressure to another device via the wireless communication circuitry; and 
 
   the other device comprising processing circuitry configured to:
 determine whether a posture of the patient at a time of the measured cardiovascular pressure was a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements; and 
 determine whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the posture was the target posture. 
   
     
     
         10 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the other device further comprises a housing containing the processing circuitry, wherein the housing is configured for implantation in the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the other device further comprises a memory configured to store:
 an upper bound for the predetermined window and a lower bound for the predetermined window; and   the posture of the patient at the time of day.   
     
     
         12 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the implantable pressure sensing device is configured for implantation in a vascular system of the patient; and   the other device is configured for subcutaneous implantation in the patient.   
     
     
         13 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry of the other device is further configured to:
 determine whether an activity level of the patient is below a threshold level; and   determine whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the activity level of the patient is below the threshold level.   
     
     
         14 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry of the other device is further configured to:
 determine whether a heart rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   determine whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the heart rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         15 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry of the other device is further configured to:
 determine whether a respiration rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   determine whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the respiration rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         16 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry of the other device is further configured to:
 set a timer based on determining that the posture was not the target posture; and   at an expiration of the timer, determine whether a posture of the patient is the target posture,   wherein the other device further comprises wireless communication circuitry configured to send a trigger signal to the implantable pressure sensing device to cause the pressure sensing circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device to measure the cardiovascular pressure of the patient in response to the trigger signal.   
     
     
         17 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device is further configured to determine that a time of day is within a predetermined window for cardiovascular pressure measurements, wherein the processing circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device is configured to control the pressure sensing circuitry to measure the cardiovascular pressure in response to determining that the time of day is within the predetermined window, and wherein the other device further comprises wireless communication circuitry configured to:
 transmit the measured cardiovascular pressure to a third device;   transmit the time of day to the third device; and   transmit the posture of the patient at the time of day to the third device.   
     
     
         18 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the other device is configured for implantation in the patient;
 the other device further comprises sensing circuitry configured to generate a signal indicating the posture of the patient.   
     
     
         19 . The medical device system of  claim 9 , wherein the other device is configured to receive a signal indicating the posture of the patient from an implantable monitoring device. 
     
     
         20 . A method for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient, the method comprising:
 determining, by processing circuitry of an implantable monitoring device, that a time of day is within a predetermined window for cardiovascular pressure measurements;   sensing, with sensing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, a posture of the patient during the predetermined window in response to the determination;   determining, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, that the sensed posture of the patient is a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements;   sending a trigger signal, via wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, to an implantable pressure sensing device, wherein the implantable pressure sensing device measures the cardiovascular pressure of the patient using pressure sensing circuitry in response to the trigger signal; and   receiving, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, the measured cardiovascular pressure of the patient from the implantable pressure sensing device via the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, that the sensed posture of the patient is not the target posture;   refraining from sending the trigger signal via the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device based on determining the sensed posture is not the target posture;   setting, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, a timer;   at an expiration of the timer, with posture sensing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, sensing posture of the patient;   determining, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, that the sensed posture of the patient is the target posture; and   sending the trigger signal, via the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, to the implantable pressure sensing device, based on determining the sensed posture is the target posture.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, whether a heart rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   sending the trigger signal, via wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device, to an implantable pressure sensing device based on determining whether the heart rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         23 . A medical device system for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient, the medical device system comprising:
 an implantable monitoring device comprising:
 wireless communication circuitry, 
 processing circuitry configured to determine that a time of day is within a predetermined window for cardiovascular pressure measurements, and 
 sensing circuitry configured to sense a posture of the patient during the predetermined window in response to the determination, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the sensed posture of the patient is a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements, and wherein the wireless communication circuitry is configured to send a trigger signal to an implantable pressure sensing device; and 
   the implantable pressure sensing device comprising:
 wireless communication circuitry configured to receive the trigger signal, and 
 pressure sensing circuitry configured to measure the cardiovascular pressure of the patient in response to the trigger signal, wherein the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device is further configured to transmit the measured cardiovascular pressure of the patient to the implantable monitoring device. 
   
     
     
         24 . The medical device system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to determine that the sensed posture of the patient is not the target posture;   the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to refrain from sending the trigger signal based on determining the sensed posture is not the target posture;   the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to set a timer;   the posture sensing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to sense posture of the patient at an expiration of the timer;   the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to determine that the sensed posture of the patient is the target posture; and   the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to send the trigger signal to the implantable pressure sensing device, based on determining the sensed posture is the target posture.   
     
     
         25 . The medical device system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the processing circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to determine whether a heart rate of the patient is below a threshold rate; and   the wireless communication circuitry of the implantable monitoring device is further configured to send the trigger signal to an implantable pressure sensing device based on determining whether the heart rate of the patient is below the threshold rate.   
     
     
         26 . A method for monitoring a cardiovascular pressure in a patient, the method comprising:
 determining, by processing circuitry of an implantable pressure sensing device, that a time of day is within a predetermined window for cardiovascular pressure measurements;   measuring, by pressure sensing circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device, the cardiovascular pressure of the patient in response to the determination;   transmitting, via wireless communication circuitry of the implantable pressure sensing device, the measured cardiovascular pressure to another device;   determining, by processing circuitry of the other device, whether a posture of the patient at the time of day was a target posture for cardiovascular pressure measurements, wherein the target posture comprises a supine posture, a right-side-down posture when the implantable pressure sensing device is implanted in the left pulmonary artery, or a left-side-down posture when the implantable pressure sensing device is implanted in the right pulmonary artery; and   determining, by the processing circuitry of the other device, whether to store or discard the transmitted cardiovascular pressure based on determining whether the posture was the target posture.