Long-term implantable systems and methods for affecting cardiac contractility and/or relaxation

A method of selecting a combination of electrodes for nerve stimulation includes testing a combination of electrodes in an array of electrodes to identify atrial capture. Atrial capture is indicated by at least one impact on the atrium. The method includes excluding electrodes with atrial capture to create remaining electrodes of the array of electrodes, testing a combination of remaining electrodes of the array of electrodes for effects on contractility and/or relaxation of the heart, and selecting a combination of electrodes from the remaining electrodes. The selected combination has a desirable effect on cardiac contractility and/or relaxation and has no undesirable side effects. 选择用于神经刺激的电极的组合的方法包括测试电极阵列中的电极的组合以识别心房夺获。心房夺获由对心房的至少一种影响指示。该方法包括排除具有心房夺获的电极以产生电极阵列的剩余电极，针对对心脏收缩性和/或松弛的影响测试电极阵列的剩余电极的组合，和从剩余电极中选择电极的组合。所选择的组合对心脏收缩性和/或松弛具有期望的影响并且没有不期望的副作用。