You get winded quickly and feel exhausted doing simple, routine tasks. When your feet and ankles started swelling too, you decided it was time to see a doctor. Now, you have a cardiomyopathy diagnosis.
You may be able to receive a cardiomyopathy VA rating if you can link the condition to your military service or another service-connected condition. This post explains more about potential service connections and the VA disability rating for cardiomyopathy.
Key Takeaways
- Cardiomyopathy is rated using the criteria in the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Heart.
- Cardiomyopathy VA ratings can be 10%, 30%, 60%, or 100% depending on how much exertion it takes for you to experience heart failure symptoms.
- There is no recognized link between Agent Orange exposure and cardiomyopathy, but there are many other ways the condition can be service connected.
Let’s get started today
In this article about the cardiomyopathy VA rating:
What is cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart that makes it more difficult for your heart to pump blood effectively. The condition weakens your heart muscle, making it difficult for the vessel to pump blood. It can develop for many reasons, including high blood pressure, diabetes, or trauma.
There are multiple types of cardiomyopathy, but they all occur when the heart muscle gets weak, thick, or stiff, and the heart can’t work properly.
Symptoms of cardiomyopathy can include:
- Shortness of breath, especially after eating
- Fatigue
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, or abdomen
- Chest pain or pressure
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting
- Irregular heartbeat or palpitations
- Cough that worsens when lying down
- Bloating due to fluid buildup
Veterans are more prone to heart diseases, like cardiomyopathy, because of factors including trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as related life-style choices, including excessive alcohol consumption.
The cardiomyopathy VA rating
Veterans can receive VA disability benefits for cardiomyopathy when it’s connected to their military service.
The condition is rated using diagnostic code 7020 for cardiomyopathy and uses the rating criteria in the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Heart.
Your rating will depend on whether you experience heart failure symptoms, including fatigue, angina, palpitations, and fainting, as well as your score on the MET test. The VA considers one MET as the “energy cost of standing quietly at rest and represents an oxygen uptake of 3.5 milliliters per kilogram of body weight per minute.”
Agent Orange and cardiomyopathy
If you have cardiomyopathy, you may wonder if it’s the result of your Agent Orange exposure.
The VA recognizes some heart conditions, like ischemic heart disease, as being linked to Agent Orange. Ischemic heart disease affects the blood vessels that supply the heart, reducing oxygen flow and potentially damaging the muscle while cardiomyopathy is a disease of the muscle itself.
The VA does not recognize a formal connection between cardiomyopathy and Agent Orange exposure at this time. This means veterans cannot receive a presumptive service connection for Agent Orange and cardiomyopathy.
However, if you believe your cardiomyopathy was caused by Agent Orange, you can speak with a doctor and see if there is evidence to support this for your VA claim.
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Cardiomyopathy and related conditions
It’s possible your cardiomyopathy is directly linked to your service, but it may also be caused by another service-connected condition. This is known as a secondary service connection.
- Diabetes. Prolonged high blood sugar can damage the heart over time, causing diabetic cardiomyopathy.
- High Blood Pressure. Hypertension can cause cardiomyopathy because it makes the heart muscles work harder, resulting in damage. This is known as hypertensive cardiomyopathy.
- Cancer. While cancer doesn’t cause cardiomyopathy, treatment for the disease may increase veterans’ risks of the disease. That’s because drugs used for cancer treatment can damage the heart muscle.
- Alcohol Use Disorder. Heavy, long-term use of alcohol can also cause alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy by weakening the heart muscle. Alcohol use disorder can also be service connected, specifically if it’s associated with a trauma disorder, like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Veterans with service-connected diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, or alcohol use disorder who also have cardiomyopathy could be owed additional monthly compensation from the VA.
TDIU for heart conditions
In some cases, a veteran may be awarded total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for cardiomyopathy. TDIU is also known as individual unemployability or simply IU. Veterans are eligible for these benefits if they can’t hold down “substantially gainful” employment due to their service-connected conditions.
Veterans with cardiomyopathy may struggle to work, particularly in jobs that involve physical activity, including lifting, walking, or simply standing. Individuals with related conditions like diabetes or alcohol use disorder may find working enough to support themselves even more difficult and may find themselves unable to perform even sedentary jobs.
Veterans who receive TDIU benefits are compensated at the same level as those with a 100% disability rating, even though their combined rating is below 100%.
Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:
- At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more
How Woods & Woods can help
Woods & Woods has been fighting for people with injuries and disabilities since 1985. Our team of accredited VA disability lawyers, case managers, legal analysts, and intake specialists know the ins and outs of the VA so you don’t have to do all the hard work. Call us today for your free and confidential case evaluation.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can get a VA rating for cardiomyopathy. Your rating can be 10%, 30%, 60%, or 100%, depending on the severity of your symptoms and the damage to your heart. The condition could be directly related to your military service, or may also be related to another service-connected condition.
The VA rates cardiomyopathy under the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Heart in the Schedule of Ratings. The rating depends on heart failure symptoms and your score on the MET test.
Neil Woods
Neil Woods is a VA disability attorney and the owner and president of Woods & Woods. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
