Can you get disability for heart failure? The answer is yes if you meet the medical guidelines established by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for receiving financial assistance.
The symptoms of heart failure include acute fatigue and difficulty breathing. Both symptoms, as well as several others, can make it impossible to hold down a steady job. If you suffer from heart failure, speak with a Social Security disability attorney to submit a persuasive claim.
Is Heart Failure a Disability?
The SSA considers heart failure to be a disability, but only if the symptoms of the disease meet the severity threshold established by the Blue Book. A team of medical examiners reviews the medical records that you submit along with your disability application to determine eligibility for financial assistance.
Congestive heart failure, which represents one of several types of the disease, lists under Section 4.02 of the Blue Book.
Your cardiologist completes a thorough physical examination to detect any severe symptoms of heart disease. In addition to acute fatigue and shortness of breath, you might suffer from weak joints and muscles, as well as intense pressure applied to your chest. Shortness of breath is an especially serious symptom of heart disease.
If you suffer from shortness of breath, document every step you take to alleviate the severe symptom. Alleviating shortness of breath can include using more than one pillow to sleep. The inability to fall asleep is another negative effect that is associated with shortness of breath.
Types of Heart Failure Conditions That Are a Disability
Congestive heart failure is a type of disease that requires immediate medical care. The medical condition develops when blood flowing out of the heart slows down, with the slower blood backing up into the body’s tissues.
Swelling around the heart forces the heart to pump much harder than it should. Congestive heart failure also negatively impacts the kidneys, as the vital organ cannot dispose of water and sodium at an acceptable rate.
The other two primary types of heart failure are left-sided and right-sided heart failure, both of which can cause serious health consequences.
How to Get Disability Benefits with Heart Failure
How to get disability with heart failure starts by contacting a Social Security disability attorney. A disability lawyer helps you gather and organize the documentation you need to file a successful claim. You need to submit every medical record, such as the results of diagnostic tests and the prescriptions for medications that mitigate the symptoms of heart failure.
Submitting timekeeping records and copies of your bank statements help you supply evidence to the SSA that demonstrates you have missed a significant amount of time from work.
You have two options for initiating the filing of a claim. You can call 800-772-1213 or apply online at the SSA website. After you initiate a disability claim, you have to complete the submission of the claim in person at the nearest SSA office. The SSA provides a convenient office locator for you to discover where you can file your disability claim in person. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SSA might have temporarily closed local offices.
Get Help with Your Heart Failure Disability Claim
If the SSA denies your disability claim, a Social Security disability attorney can help guide you through the appeals process. Schedule a free case evaluation today with a disability lawyer to file the most convincing disability claim possible.
