South Carolina Social Security Attorneys: Heart Problems and Social Security Benefits

What You Should Know

Heart failure indicates that the heart’s pumping power is lower than normal. With heart failure, blood moves to the heart and through the body at a slower rate, therefore, pressure in the heart increases.

As a result, the heart cannot pump enough oxygen and nutrients for the body’s needs. The chambers of the heart respond by stretching to hold more blood to pump through the body.

This helps to keep the blood moving, however, after a short period of time, the muscle walls in the heart weaken and are unable to pump as powerfully. If signs or symptoms after treatment are still apparent, an individual has chronic heart failure.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) requires proof of documented vascular congestion in order to qualify for social security disability benefits.

For this condition to be severe enough to meet the SSA’s level of proof, the individual must have:

• Current Cardiac Enlargement
• The function of the Left Ventricle of the Heart
• An inability to perform on an exercise test at a workload equivalent to five MET’s or less, due to Chronic Heart Failure.
• And the marked limitation of ordinary physical activity by symptoms such as palpitations, fatigue, dyspnea, or angina.