VA Benefits for Heart Conditions | Are You Rated Properly?!

Aug 18, 2023

VA Benefits for Heart Conditions | Are You Rated Properly?!

0:00 Introduction
0:25 What are the most common heart conditions veterans claim disability for?
1:07 How do you get VA benefits for a heart condition?
1:54 Are there heart conditions related to Agent Orange? Are there presumptive benefits?
3:09 Do Thailand and Korea vets get presumptive benefits for heart conditions?
4:12 What are some possible secondary service connections with heart disease? How does obesity play a role?
6:15 Discussion of how heart conditions are rated and whether or not you can receive 100% benefits for a heart condition.
10:58 Can you get individual unemployability for a heart condition? What is TDIU?

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Speakers
Natalia Jofre - COO
Allison Reddick - Attorney

Content

0.38 -> - Hi, welcome back to Hill and Ponton's

2.19 -> Veterans Disability Blog.

3.68 -> I'm Natalia Jofre, the company's COO.

6.36 -> - And I'm attorney Allison Reddick.

8.42 -> - And we're continuing our new format

10.26 -> to stay happy and healthy, right Allison? (laughs)

12.85 -> - Yes, social distancing.

14.55 -> - Social distancing at its best.

16.55 -> So today we're gonna be talking about VA disability

20.22 -> for heart conditions.

22.2 -> So Allison, first question for you are,

26.01 -> what are some of the most common heart conditions

28.48 -> you've seen to file claims for?

31.5 -> - Well, as we live in the United States

34.09 -> we know that heart disease is one of the main contributors

37.94 -> to death in the United States.

39.48 -> And that does not separate veterans at all.

43.46 -> There are many, numerous heart conditions.

46.56 -> Some of the umbrella terms that are most recognized

50.07 -> would be coronary artery disease,

52.5 -> which is also known as ischemic heart disease,

55.71 -> congestive heart failure's a big one,

57.7 -> hypertension is a huge one,

59.96 -> as well as arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation,

63.96 -> also known as AFib.

65.64 -> - Yeah, okay.

67.57 -> How do you get direct service connected benefits

71.04 -> for a heart condition?

73.26 -> - So, for a heart condition would be

75.13 -> like any other condition

77.1 -> trying to get direct service connection.

79.38 -> You need a diagnosed heart condition,

81.47 -> whether it be coronary artery disease,

83.46 -> ischemic heart disease, et cetera.

86.22 -> This incident or condition that may be symptoms in service,

92.15 -> and a medical nexus to show

94.18 -> that the two are linked together.

96.36 -> - Okay.

97.193 -> I was previously talking to Melanie a couple days ago,

101.3 -> and we were talking about the link with hypertension,

104.579 -> and how the medication for hypertension can give you.

108.75 -> Talked about Agent Orange

110.98 -> and the presumption with Agent Orange and diabetes.

113.69 -> And so, my question to you is

116.28 -> are there any heart conditions related to Agent Orange,

120.41 -> and how does that work?

121.76 -> Are there any presumptions there with heart conditions?

124.35 -> - Oh, absolutely.

125.29 -> I would say heart disease is probably

127.36 -> one of the largest conditions

131.47 -> that are claimed for Agent Orange presumptive conditions.

136.78 -> If you can show that you were exposed to herbicides,

139.64 -> whether you were boots on the ground in Vietnam

142.53 -> or now with the new act for Blue Water Navy,

146.2 -> if you were within 12 nautical miles

148.48 -> as well as some Thailand veterans and Korea veterans,

152.1 -> then basically you don't need that nexus.

154.65 -> You still need a diagnosed condition.

157.64 -> And then your service in one of those areas

162.45 -> makes it presumptive that it's assumed,

165.61 -> okay, you were exposed to Agent Orange

168.03 -> and you have a diagnosed heart condition,

170.61 -> then you get presumptive service connection.

172.75 -> - So is it the same in that if you were in a certain place

176.23 -> at a certain time,

177.67 -> it is presumed that you were exposed to Agent Orange,

180.75 -> and therefore if you have this heart condition

182.827 -> there's that connection?

184.89 -> Is it automatic?

186.571 -> - Yes, depending on the area.

188.91 -> So Thailand and Korea,

191 -> there are caveats that you need to fulfill,

194.958 -> but for the 12 nautical miles, being a Blue Water veteran,

198.88 -> or boots on the ground in Vietnam, then it's automatic.

202.51 -> However, one of the conditions that is very prevalent

206.41 -> is hypertension.

207.55 -> And that is not a presumed condition,

210.28 -> even though there is tons of evidence

212.54 -> showing that hypertension is caused by Agent Orange.

216.94 -> So that is a situation where you can still claim it

220.51 -> but it's not presumptive.

221.78 -> You don't get that presumptive, you have to claim it direct.

227.23 -> You have to provide that nexus opinion.

229.56 -> - That's where you come in, right?

230.82 -> With your attorney superhero powers.

234.124 -> - Absolutely, there are-- - To prove that connection.

235.784 -> (laughs) - Yes.

236.785 -> And there's an umbrella term,

239.15 -> that it's coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease,

243.112 -> but there are so many conditions that may not fall into it.

248.48 -> And that's where we come in,

249.56 -> to be able to provide a nexus if necessary.

252.47 -> - Okay, great.

253.88 -> What are some possible secondary service connections

258.071 -> for heart disease, or heart conditions, pardon me?

262.61 -> And also, a backup question is

264.36 -> how does obesity play a role?

266.77 -> Because I often see that connection.

269.9 -> - So there's two ways to come from that.

271.97 -> There is, you have a condition

274.17 -> and then your heart disease is secondary to that condition.

278.09 -> So that would be conditions like diabetes,

281.34 -> potentially PTSD, you have a lot of anger,

283.87 -> it increases your blood pressure, it causes heart disease,

286.45 -> causes hypertension.

288.53 -> Medications can also cause some heart conditions.

292.24 -> And then there's the flip side,

293.95 -> you're service connected for a heart condition

296.61 -> and you have secondary conditions to that.

301.16 -> A heart attack would be a condition, stroke,

305.39 -> atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia,

310.26 -> chronic kidney disease.

311.69 -> And obesity does play a large part in a lot of these.

316.35 -> If you have heart disease and you're fatigued

320.34 -> and you're short of breath, you can't exercise as much

323.03 -> so you develop obesity.

324.73 -> And obesity alone doesn't contribute it

329.82 -> but it's kind of a step between

332.61 -> a service-connected condition like heart disease

334.9 -> and another condition.

336.39 -> So let's say you have coronary artery disease

340.22 -> and it's severe to the point where you can't exercise,

344.95 -> it's hard for you to do your activities of daily living,

348.52 -> you gain a lot of weight, you become obese,

350.9 -> and then you develop diabetes.

352.96 -> So obesity is kinda that step in between the two conditions

357.3 -> that shows, okay,

358.55 -> I have this service-connected heart condition,

361.09 -> I became obese, and because of that obesity

363.33 -> I developed diabetes.

365.36 -> - Gotcha.

366.29 -> It's almost like you're playing connect the dots, isn't it?

368.98 -> Like this links to this and then that links to the other.

372.37 -> - Yes, it's a puzzle.

374.57 -> - It is a puzzle, yeah.

376.24 -> How are heart conditions rated by the VA?

379.78 -> - So, heart conditions are rated based off of testing.

383.51 -> It can be a physical test like a stress test on a treadmill

387.84 -> where you run, and as much activity you can complete

393.78 -> at certain strenuous levels, that's how it's calculated.

399.07 -> Or it can be interview-based testing

401.81 -> if it's unsafe for you to complete a physical test.

405.37 -> So how they do that is

407.59 -> they rate it based off of your METS testing,

410.63 -> which is Metabolic Equivalents Test,

412.89 -> and that's what they figure out

414.344 -> based off of the physical stress test

416.73 -> or asking you questions about the symptoms you have.

421.07 -> Basically, the lower your METS rating is,

424 -> the higher your rating is going to be.

426.81 -> So one to three METS is if you're having issues

431.43 -> with your activities of daily living.

433.45 -> Getting dressed you're getting short of breath,

435.56 -> taking a shower you're fatigued,

438.61 -> eating, slow walking a block or two you have to take breaks.

442.26 -> That would be 100% rating.

445.744 -> Three to five METS would be like,

448.89 -> doing light yardwork, some weeding, brisk walking,

453.84 -> that would be a 60% rating.

456.8 -> Five to seven METS is walking up a flight of stairs,

459.77 -> you're getting more strenuous, mowing the lawn,

462.36 -> that's a 30% rating.

464.41 -> And then seven to 10 METS, jogging,

467.21 -> more strenuous activity,

468.98 -> you don't really have any limitations at all,

471.27 -> that's a 10% rating.

473.02 -> And a lot of the time I see that

476.41 -> the veterans are given lower ratings, 10%, 30%,

480.327 -> when in actuality they probably deserve

483.03 -> a 60% or 100% rating.

485.55 -> - Okay, and that was my next question.

487.3 -> So can you get 100% VA rating for heart conditions?

491.29 -> So the answer is yes. (laughs)

493.05 -> - Yes, absolutely.

493.883 -> I mean, a heart condition can be absolutely debilitating

496.94 -> to the point where if you can't complete

499.71 -> your activities of daily living,

501.71 -> you have shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain,

506.12 -> weakness, some people even have fainting spells.

509.89 -> You can't really do anything without symptoms,

512.66 -> then you absolutely can get 100% rating

515.57 -> based off that one to three METS rating.

518.77 -> I'll clarify that in the interview-based stress test

523.17 -> they're gonna be asking you questions like

525.51 -> do you have shortness of breath when you're getting dressed,

529.33 -> or chest pain and things like that.

531.1 -> So that's how they determine the METS, in that way,

534.33 -> if you can't do the physical test.

535.597 -> - Okay.

536.43 -> I've heard of temporary 100%.

540 -> Does that exist, is that a thing?

542.4 -> - Yes.

543.233 -> So there are certain conditions or certain surgeries

546.26 -> that you can have

547.56 -> where you get a temporary 100% rating.

551.96 -> So like, if you were to have a heart attack,

555.41 -> you're rated 100% for three months

557.93 -> and then after that they reassess

560.66 -> to get a new rating for it.

562.86 -> If you get a pacemaker put in you get a temporary 100%

567.53 -> for two months after your surgery.

570.57 -> Other surgeries like heart valve replacements,

573.19 -> I believe that's six months you get 100%.

575.6 -> And then if you have

576.94 -> a heart transplant or heart replacement,

580.22 -> you'll get a year of 100%

581.81 -> and then they'll reassess all of those

583.87 -> after those time periods lapse.

586.2 -> - Okay, super, super helpful.

588.31 -> Can you get benefits for harmful side effects

590.85 -> due to heart condition medication?

593.44 -> And we see this a lot, don't we?

595.61 -> Where symptoms of side effects are almost as detrimental

598.59 -> as the condition itself.

600.61 -> So can you get service connected benefits for that?

603.98 -> - Yes.

605.298 -> And it's to the point

606.131 -> where someone's not going to take a medication

609.33 -> unless they have to

610.43 -> if they're having these debilitating side effects.

613.47 -> So in these cases you're probably going to need a nexus

617.6 -> to show that because of the heart medication you're taking,

621.581 -> it's causing harmful side effects,

624.53 -> and so you can get secondary service connection for that.

627.36 -> So an example would be,

629.52 -> you've tried all these different heart medications

631.71 -> but there's just one that works for your condition,

634.64 -> but you have debilitating headaches.

638.61 -> You would get a nexus to show

640.53 -> that there's nothing else that's causing these headaches,

642.93 -> it's the heart medication.

644.14 -> But you have to take that medication

646.41 -> in order to control your heart symptoms.

649.72 -> - Yeah, in order to survive.

651.74 -> And that is a common one, isn't it?

653.97 -> With the heart medication and the headaches.

656.41 -> I hear that a lot. - Yes, yes.

658.9 -> - Can you get IU for a heart condition?

662.96 -> - Yes, so--

663.793 -> - I guess maybe tell people a bit what IU is,

665.71 -> and then can they get it for a heart condition?

668.57 -> - So if your heart condition isn't severe

671.66 -> to the point where you have 100% scheduler rating,

675.09 -> you can still potentially be paid at the 100% rate

679.5 -> through individual unemployability.

681.72 -> So basically what that means is

683.848 -> you have a rating lower than 100%

688.19 -> but your conditions are so debilitating

690.88 -> that you're unable to work.

692.595 -> In order to get IU

694.11 -> you have to have at least one condition at 60%

697.52 -> or multiple conditions at 70%

700.36 -> with at least one being rated at 40%.

703.58 -> So if you're not 100% for your heart condition,

707.87 -> the next lower is 60%,

709.75 -> which, that qualifies you for individual unemployability.

713.99 -> It would be one condition at 60%.

717.3 -> So if that condition is debilitating

719.97 -> to the point where you're unable to work,

722.28 -> you're unable to go into the office

725.16 -> or even do sedentary work

726.59 -> because you're getting shortness of breath,

728.61 -> you're fatigued all the time,

729.74 -> or you're having to nap,

730.933 -> your side effects from your medication,

733.38 -> you definitely can get individual unemployability.

736.17 -> Or let's say you have 10% or 30%

739.11 -> but you have other conditions

740.69 -> that your combined rating is 70%

744.03 -> with at least one condition being 40%,

746.29 -> you can get individual unemployability that way as well.

749.61 -> - Okay.

750.443 -> So lots of different ways to get benefits.

753.35 -> And kinda depends on the person

755.02 -> and what their circumstances are, right?

756.97 -> - Yes, absolutely.

758.226 -> - Okay, great.

759.82 -> Well this was helpful.

760.98 -> Allison, thank you so much.

763.03 -> - Thank you.

764.125 -> - All right, if you have any questions

765.985 -> feel free to visit our website or call our office.

769.57 -> Thanks for joining us.

771.083 -> (relaxing music)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrw1NDSZgJ0