Adaptive rate pacing for improving heart rate kinetics in heart failure patients involves determining onset and sustaining of patient activity. The patients heart rate response to the sustained activity is evaluated during a time window defined between onset of the activity and a steady-state exercise level. If the patients heart rate response to the sustained activity is determined to be slow, a pacing therapy is delivered at a rate greater than the patients intrinsic heart rate based on a profile of the patients heart rate response to varying workloads. If determined not to be slow, the pacing therapy is withheld. Monitoring-only configurations provide for acquisition and organization of physiological data for heart failure patients. These data can be acquired on a per-patient basis and used to assess the HF status of the patient.
