 SSDRC Filing a Social Security Disability Application - How to File & the Information that is Needed by SSA Do you need a Lawyer at the Administrative Law Judge Disability Hearing? Social Security Disability Back pay and How Long it Takes to Qualify for it How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of benefits If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much is paid for the Social Security Disability Attorney Fee? How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? How To Get Disability Through SSDI or SSI Approved Should you get Help from a Disability Attorney before the Claim has been Denied? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability Qualifying for Disability - What is Social Security Looking for? How do I check the status of my Social Security disability claim? What Expenses Will A Social Security Attorney Charge In Addition To The Fee? |
Facts about Cardiovascular Heart Stenosis and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1. Cardiovascular stenosis involves the narrowing of arteries and valves in the heart, preventing proper blood flow from the heart to the body. Two types of cardiovascular stenosis are aortic valve stenosis and mitral valve stenosis, both causing similar symptoms and complications although a different valve is affected. 2. Aortic and mitral valve stenosis both cause the heart to pump harder in order to fulfill the body's need for blood to circulate. Overtime the heart weakens due to being overworked, and the amount of blood pumped becomes limited. 3. The narrowing of the aortic valve can be caused by heart defects from birth, buildup of calcium in old age, and rheumatic fever, a complication of strep throat that causes scar tissue to develop in the valve. 4. Symptoms of aortic valve stenosis include pain and tightness in the chest; feeling faint, fatigued or short of breath, especially with physical activity; and irregular heartbeat such as palpitations or murmur. 5. Mitral valve stenosis is caused primarily by development of rheumatic fever in childhood, which can scar the valve and cause it to narrow. 6. Symptoms of mitral valve stenosis are similar to aortic valve stenosis, but also include swelling of the feet and ankles, persistent, productive cough, and higher risk of respiratory infections. Unlike aortic valve stenosis, mitral stenosis rarely causes chest pain or tightness. Symptoms usually resemble heart failure. 7. Aortic valve stenosis increases the risk of infection in the bloodstream and heart. Mitral valve stenosis may lead to enlargement of the heart, blood clots and lung congestion. Both conditions may result in heart failure if not treated. 8. Treatment of stenosis in heart valves targets symptoms first. As the condition worsens, surgery becomes necessary to repair the valve. However, some people never reach the point of severity where surgery is needed. Can you qualify for disability benefits with this condition? Whether or not you qualify for disability and, as a result, are approved for disability benefits will depend entirely on the information obtained from your medical records. This includes whatever statements may have been obtained from your treating physician (a doctor who has a history of treating your condition and is, therefore, qualified to comment as to your condition and prognosis). It will also depend on the information obtained from your vocational, or work, history if you are an adult, or academic records if you are a minor-age child. The important thing to keep in mind is that the social security administration does not award benefits based on simply having a condition, but, instead, will base an approval or denial on the extent to which a condition causes functional limitations. Functional limitations can be great enough to make work activity not possible (or, for a child, make it impossible to engage in age-appropriate activities). Why are so many disability cases lost at the disability application and reconsideration appeal levels? Speaking as a former Disability Claims Examiner, I can state that there are several reasons: 1) Social Security makes no attempt to obtain a statement from a claimant's treating physician. By contrast, at the hearing level, a claimant and his or her disability attorney will generally obtain and present this type of statement to a judge; 2) Prior to the hearing level, a claimant will not have the opportunity to explain how their condition limits them, nor will their attorney or representative have the opportunity to make a presentation based on the evidence of the case. At the hearing level, of course, this is exactly what happens. And a number of disability representatives will also take such steps even earlier, at the reconsideration appeal level; 3) Disability judges, unlike disability examiners who decides cases at the first two levels of the system, can make independent decisions without being overturned by immediate supervisors--which happens frequently. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions Other Links SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |