The heart is responsible for distributing blood flow across the entire body. When a problem like heart failure occurs, daily tasks and work become impossible to do. This makes receiving Social Security disability benefits due to heart and cardiovascular problems absolutely essential.
What Makes Cardiovascular Problems Like Heart Failure A Disability?
Cardiac impairments prevent the heart from receiving the proper amount of oxygen it needs to function. Arteries can slowly become blocked, and which lowers a person’s stamina among other functioning abilities.
While abnormal episodes can occur, it’s important for the Social Security Administration to receive your extended medical record of your heart problems. This documentation can help your case be better assessed for the severity, duration and impact of your heart problem. More specifically, this record should include your diagnosis, details of your symptoms, management, and any treatments. One example of a test that should be present in your claim includes an angiogram, which would demonstrate the presence of any blockages in your heart.
Regulations on Cardiac Impairments
Several years ago, the Social Security Administration updated the regulations on heart conditions. The changes added information on new tests and treatments. Just some of the new conditions covered under the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book guidelines, includes chronic heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral artery disease – any disorder that affects the proper functioning of the heart or the circulatory system.
Disability Law states that in order to find a disability based on any heart impairment, there must be evidence of “symptoms, signs, laboratory findings, response to a regimen of prescribed treatment, and functional limitations.” The illness must also result in “very serious limitations in the ability to independently initiate, sustain, or complete activities of daily living.” Any remaining ability to function is carefully assessed and a major part of the key to getting your disability claim approved.
Even though a person may not exactly meet the criteria in the regulation, a disability case may still be won through developing evidence based on the functional and emotional impact of a heart condition.
