A method and device for detecting cardiac signals in a medical device that includes decomposing sensed cardiac signals using a wavelet function to form a corresponding wavelet transform, generating a first wavelet representation corresponding to the wavelet transform that is responsive to RR intervals of the sensed cardiac signals, generating a second wavelet representation that is not responsive to RR intervals associated with the sensed cardiac signals, and determining a device failure in response to the first wavelet representation and the second wavelet representation. The method and device may also include decomposing sensed cardiac signals using a wavelet function to form a corresponding wavelet transform, generating a wavelet representation that is not responsive to RR intervals of the sensed cardiac signals, determining RR intervals associated with the sensed cardiac signals, and determining a device failure in response to the first wavelet representation and the determined RR intervals.