Heart Disease

[goofycow]

Hi:

How does the VA rate heart disease for disability purposes? I have high blood pressure, top number constantly in the 150-160 range while on BP medication, bottom number normal. Calcified plaque also showed up in a major artery in abdomen while they were doing x-rays of lower back. Is there anywhere I can go to find out how VA rates these conditions? I am also rated 70% for major depressive disorder.

Thanks

Liz

[Guest jangrin]

Hi:

How does the VA rate heart disease for disability purposes? I have high blood pressure, top number constantly in the 150-160 range while on BP medication, bottom number normal. Calcified plaque also showed up in a major artery in abdomen while they were doing x-rays of lower back. Is there anywhere I can go to find out how VA rates these conditions? I am also rated 70% for major depressive disorder.

Thanks

Liz

Hi goofycow,

Go to the following link. Then go to 38 CFR part 4, then scroll down to subpart B. Once there scroll down to cardiovascular and look in the schedule of ratings. You can then compare your symptoms to their rating schedule and sort of determine what your % of disbility should be. You can do this for almost any body part or disease process or debilitating condition. I hope this helps good luck to you.

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Reference/

Jangrin :(

[Guest jstacy]

Liz, Please make an appointment with a board certified cardiologist ASAP. You need a Heart cath to tell the extent of the disease. The VA is OK to have this done but I prefer to go outside. If you can you need to have this checked. Coronary artery disease is dangerous.

[goofycow]

Hi Jangiun:

That is exactly what I am looking for. I used your link & found the ratings. But my eyes glazed over at all those 50 cent medical terms :(

This problem was discovered when I underwent a physical exam as part of a C & P for PTSD at the end of 2002. All VA has done for me is prescribe zocor & small doses of blood pressure medication on & off, mainly off. No further tests were ever given.

Liz

[Guest jangrin]

goofycow,

Your welcome, glad to be of help. Has you doctor checked you for DMII (diabetes). Lots of times high blood pressure is an indication of DMII and this is also a known precursor to heart disease.

Also since you found calcium in the x-ray (abdominal) you might want to go to your local imaging center and have them due a CT scan of your heart and aorta. The VA doesn't do this screening yet.

It's not real expensive any more you can shop around for pricing on this Explain about the calcium on your x-ray and your history of HBP and why you want this to screen for possible heart calcium (atherosclerousis).

You will need to start some medications if in fact you have the building up of calcium in your arteries. Do not wait on this, it's is easier to stop the process from getting worse but very difficult if not impossible to reverse.

I don't know how old you are, but this also occurs in the ageing process, but it can and should be treated to keep this under control as much as possible, non the less.

Jangrin :(

[Guest jstacy]

There is a chance if you need a certain test the VA will send you out to private facility to do it. They did it for me last year. Ask your primary care physician to refer to cardiology and the Specialist may help. My guess is that with calcifications, he will want to do a Thallium study and maybe a Heart cath. A heart cath is done under a scanner and it is the only true way to diagnose heart / Artery disease.

[Guest jangrin]

Jstacy,

I agree about the heart cath, however, it was my husbands recent experience with the VA that they will not do the heart cath, unless the perfusion test shows SERIOUS abnormal function . Simply suspecting calcium, or even angina, is not sufficient at the VAMC where we live.

The cardiologist stated if you have a heart cath done, the cardiac surgeon, will want to perform some type of procedure on your heart. He said that surgery would not improve my husbands quality of life right now so he would not authorize the heart cath. He would only recommend the "GoLD STANDARD" heart cath if my husband had a sudden heart attack or servere angina that his nitro tabs were unable to releave the pain.

This was in direct conflict with the VA primary care doc and two private radiologists/. My husband had a calcium score determined by the CT heart scan of >1700 (400 is considered extremely high). He also had a positve "abnormal needing attention"perfusion test and has been using nitro for past 8 months. Specialist still will not order heart cath. To everyones shear amazement, only medications.

Simply suspecting a problem , may not be enough. But waiting and doing nothing can be very costly and quite frankly dangerous. I would do what ever I had to do to find out exactly what is going on with the calcium problem. The 84 slice CT scan is being used to screen men and women in their 40's for excess calcium and get them started early on medication that can help block calcium build up in their arteries, before they become victims of a heart attack. Most people don't even know that this is going on because there usually is no pain involved, thats why they call this disease the "silent Killer".

I hope this give you some food for thought. Having just recently had to go through all this with my husband makes me want to help others so they don't have to worry so much. Sorry... so long winded...

Good luck to you

Jangrin :(

Jangrin