• 30
  • January
    2012

The Social Security Administration uses a "Listing of Impairments" to determine whether an applicant's disabling condition renders him or her eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. The list is quite exhaustive, although it should be mentioned that the absence of an illness or condition from the impairments list does disqualify a claimant from applying for or receiving benefits.

The mention of the listing is perhaps timely, given that February is American Heart Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, as well as a major cause of disability that prevents millions of people from working. As such, cardiovascular-related disabilities constitute a large portion of SSD applications and are well known to disability examiners.

Following are a few cardiovascular impairments recognized by the SSA for disability purposes:

  • Chronic heart failure
  • Ischemic heart disease
  • Recurrent arrhythmias
  • Symptomatic congenital heart disease
  • Heart transplant
  • Aneurysm of aorta or major branches

According to the CDC, one of about every three deaths that occur in the United States is from heart disease or stroke. That equates to approximately 2,200 deaths each day from those causes (about 800,000 deaths annually).

A major initiative to educate the public about heart disease and to bring about a reduction in illness and death stemming from it was launched last year by the CDC in a broad partnership that includes the American Heart Association, the YMCA, Walgreens and UnitedHealthCare.

The goal: to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.

Source: CDC Home, "Be one in a million this American Heart Month" (undated)