As we outlined here, heart disease in any of its forms can cause numerous severe effects, including shortness of breath, chest pain or discomfort, lightheadedness or fainting, severe fatigue, difficulty sleeping, or rapid heart beat, any of which alone or in combination can prove disabling of any type of work, including sedentary, light, medium, and heavy skilled and unskilled jobs.
One principal reason heart disease can be disabling is because any type of exertion, including sitting upright, standing, walking, bending, reaching, or lifting, can worsen the effects in the moment and after a person with heart disease has exerted himself. For instance, though many people with severe heart disease are able to manage their symptoms by remaining in bed or a recliner the vast majority of each day, seven days per week, they often find that they are severely fatigued in the days after traveling to a doctor’s appointment, which may require them to walk short distance, even if it’s with the assistance of walker, or stand while waiting in line. It is impossible for such individuals to stand and/or walk on back-to-back days, much less five days per week, fifty weeks per year. Similarly, the stress of working, which at minimum requires one to be able to tolerate the stress of interacting with coworkers and supervisors and maintaining regular attendance, can worsen all of the above-described symptoms, including dyspnea, lightheadedness or fainting, rapid heart beat, and fatigue.
Even if your heart disease does not produce test results, which typically including METS and ejection fraction, that meet the requirements of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) listings, you still may be found disabled by the SSA if your treating or examining physician finds that your heart disease produces such severe symptomatology that you are unable to work as a result.
Viner Disability Law has extensive experience representing claimants with severe heart disease and other related impairments. Please contact us for a free and confidential evaluation of your claim for disability benefits.
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