Disclosed is a system for detecting an acute myocardial infarction (i.e.,
a heart attack) at the earliest possible time and promptly warning the patient
that he should immediately seek medical care. The present invention includes an
implantable electronic system that can sense a change in the patient's electrogram
that is indicative of a heart attack. If a heart attack is sensed, the device would
then cause an implantable and/or externally located alarm to be actuated to warn
the patient of his condition and a medical practitioner at a remote diagnostic
center would receive the patient's electrogram for analysis. The patient or a caretaker
would then be informed to self-inject medication through a subcutaneous, pass-through
drug port that can be a separate device or integrated into the implanted device
that is designed for the early detection of a heart attack. Since an implantable
heart pacemaker or defibrillator already has within its structure many of the elements
required for the device to recognize a heart attack, it would be expeditious to
add a capability to these existing devices to detect a heart attack, have a pass-through
drug port and provide an implantable and/or external alarm means to inform the
patient to take appropriate action.