All concepts, explanations, trials, and studies have been
re-written in plain English and may contain errors. I am
not a doctor
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March 22, 2006 - Medicare has announced it will pay for a
test to see who should get an ICD. Other large health 
insurers have also decided to pay for this test, which is
called a "T-Wave Alternans." Doing the test is like doing
a shorter, easier treadmill test with more EKG leads stuck
on you.
	The test monitors beat-to-beat microvolt-level
changes in an EKG's T-wave during exercise. It takes
special equipment to detect this because the change in heart
beat is so very small. The "T-Wave" occurs when the heart's
pumping chambers reset for the next beat. The test is an
accurate way to see who really needs an ICD.
	Doctors get about $322 from Medicare for one
test but then again, the actual machine doctors must buy to
give this test costs roughly $30,000 and the disposable
electrode sets cost $75 each.
	A test like this is important because over 1/3
of ICD recipients don't actually need one. Richard Cohen
started experimenting with the T-Wave for NASA, which
wanted a way to monitor astronauts' hearts in space. He
founded Cambridge Heart in the early 1990s and they make
the test equipment.

Source: Cambridge Heart's web site
Source: New York Times
Source: Intellihealth