Two Previous Heart Attacks-Ihd

[warren]

I was giving a 10% award for IHD retroactive to 2002, for medication. I just discovered that the RO had evidence that I had Two Heart Attacks that I didn't know I had. I had a C&P and nothing was mentioned about the two previous Heart Attacks. Does this mean I should have received a higher percentage award.? Thanks for any advice.

GOD BLESS

[Berta]

" I just discovered that the RO had evidence that I had Two Heart Attacks that I didn't know I had. "

Do you mean by evidence , EKGs ,since the VA awarded the 10% ,that revealed inferior wall ischemia , akinesis, or something to that affect on the EKG? Something that was different from the EKG done for the AO IHD claim?

" I had a C&P and nothing was mentioned about the two previous Heart Attacks." Was the C & P specifically for the IHD if you had appealed the 10%?

"Does this mean I should have received a higher percentage award." Possibly. Hard to say ...that depends on whether the VA knew of these heart attacks and how much cardio damage they caused..when they processed the Nehmer claim.

Also the VA should have diagnosed and treated the heart attacks.And told you they occurred. Sometimes silent heart attacks can occur, without the symptoms of a full blown heart attack ...still the EKG would reveal what really happened and how bad it was.Some heart events cause only minor damage.Still...yiou had the right to know what happened.

What does the medical evidence you have actually say, regarding these heart attacks.

I mean exactly what is on the EKG strip.

And if the medical evidence, due to these heart attacks, warranted a higher rating for the IHD,than 10% , you would need to file a CUE claim on the Nehmer IHD decision, unless you are still in appeal process for the IHD rating.

If this was a serious medical error
( they hide my husband's initial heart attack from us and diagnosed and treated him instead for a 'sinus infection'.Their initial medical error was the first negligence they performed , and that error ultimately led to his untimely death... FTCA/1151)

then you have other ways to go, as well as asking for a higher SC rating.

If you feel it was negligence that left you with an additional ratable level of disability to your heart, , the best think to do is read our IMO forum here and the FTCA/Sec 1151 info.

[warren]

Berta,

It states: West Virginia University Hospital (I was there for Parkinson's)

Test ind: MRI 09/12/2007

The report has four lines going across the page. with each line having up and down and some what straight lines

This is listed on the page:

Sinus rhythm

Inferior wall myocardial infarction of indertermate age

Early transition of posterior wall myocardial infarcion

vent rate 67 BPM

PR interval 162 ms

QRS duration 96 ms

QT/QTc 372/393 ms

P-R-T axes 45 44 59

25mm/s 10mm/mV 150HZ 005E 12SL 233 cid:9

The Hospital didn't tell me about this.

GOD BLESS

[warren]

Berta,

I forgot to answer your other questions sorry.

Yes the C&P was specifically for IHD and my appeal time is over. Thank You!

[Berta]

Yes, they were heart attacks. The problem is an EKG does not reveal any extent of muscle damage.

"The Hospital didn't tell me about this."

This seems to be a private non VA Hospital.

Have you questioned the hospital?

Have you had an ECHO since then?

If so was it done by VA or a private Hospital?

An ECHO can reveal an ejection fraction, and the EF often is needed for a proper VA IHD rating.

It will also have measurements as to how much ischemia has affected the arteries to the heart.

The VA rated my AO IHD death claim with their older heart rating criteria,because my husband's undiagnosed and untreated heart disease and his death, was evident almost 2 decades prior to the new IHD regs.

The new Nehmer IHD regs were more favorable,in more recent cases than his.

I didn't get a rating sheet with my Nehmer award. Did you?

If so what diagnostic code did they use?

Has your sole CAD treatment from VA been medication?

[Berta]

"Yes the C&P was specifically for IHD and my appeal time is over."

Do you have a copy of the C & P and also, I believe I referred you to NVLSP's AO email addy some time ago here.

I forget...were you a FootnoteOne Nehmer claimant?

I will try to find those older posts.

My Nehmer decision was wrong ,but not for the IHD, for the CUE award.

I disagreed with the EED for the IHD but this was an FTCA matter too ,so I accepted the EED after I talked to NVLSP.

Apparently NVLSP had gotten results of a C & P exam I never knew my husband had....and that date was the EED.

I cant determine here whether your EED was correct,based on what VA knew and it doesn't sound like VA negligence but only an IMO doctor could determine if negligence occured and you might well be way past any lawsuit limits.

It all depends on what your medical records reveal now as to any additional and ratable damage,for a 1151 claim,if the VA knew of this situation and should have followed up with more CAD care.

My former vet rep ( AO IHD) claimed he had suffered from multiple heart attacks.But his IHD rating was only 30% as far as I know.

Not all heart attacks are disabling.But they almost always damage heart muscle,setting a stage for potential future problems.

My husband, as I said , was sent home by the VA ER with Sudafed and the ER doc gave him a slip for 3 days off until the 'sinus infection ' went away.

But after he died I found the ER cert has said R/O CAD and WU for CAD....VA never did any of that.

There was a wealth of other info on that certificate that I used against them.

Somehow he had managed to work a few more years,after that and then suffered a sudden major catastrophic stroke.Strokes can be caused by heart ischemia.

The ischemia evident in his EKGs from the ER visit and a subsequent ECHO, prompted me to file wrongful death claim under FTCA as well as continue his pending 1151 claim.

I won because of many factors...the medical evidence was right there in his med recs. I was not medically proficient in those days and had to do a lot of reading of medical stuff.

Good thing I did because I also proved a cover up had occurred .at a different VA then the first VA who misdiagnosed him.

Lots of research and work for proving the cover up, as well.

And I found (after many long months without the internet in those days ) in the Corning College Library of all places, an excerpt from the M21 VA doctor's manual dated 1988, the year of his initial undiagnosed heart attack.

It said VA employees (my husband was a VA employee in 1988) must be treated for any emergency situation with the idea to get them back on the job VA in three days.

So they knew he had heart disease due to the EKG and other stuff on the ER cert, but did nothing about it, except send him home for 2 days and then give him sudafed for the next SIX YEARS!

OGC found my charges that sudafed had contraindicated his heart disease had been proved by me as well as the wrongful death and other stuff they did wrong.

My long arduous point here is that we all Must be proactive over our medical issues.

We ,my husband and I never dreamed in 1988 ,that the VA would would ever deprive a veteran of proper diagnosis and care.

But I am living proof that they will become negligent. And he is deceased proof of that. Phoenix is just an iceberg's tip.

You need to get copies of all of your medical records and start asking some doctors some questions

Edited April 29, 2014 by Berta

[warren]

Berta,

The report states that it was a MRI not EKG. I just noticed this and I haven't questioned the Hospital. Berta, I don't know what's going on with my heart. Here's something else strange, went to see a Civilian Cardiologists with a good reputation two months ago, he did EKG told my wife and I that I had a previous heart attack, heart electrical problem, slow heart rate of 50 and two bad valves. Had a stress test (no walking) same as VA and the civilian and VA stress test came back normal. Something else strange, in 2001, had a cath. that showed two 50% blockages and two 30% blockages. Since 13 years have past, it seems to me the blockages would be a lot worse by now. I believe that if they would let me walk on tread mill, my mind would be eased. If you get back to me, I'll be taking a nap. Parkinson's makes me very fatigued and right now It is very hard for me to do anything, even think correctly. After my rest, I'll get back to you. One more thing, I stay fatigued and the VAMC diagnosed me with chronic fatigued syndrome and I tried to make it secondary to parkinson's but was denied. Now I'm thinking heart problems are causing fatigue, just a thought. Berta, thank you and may God Bless you and family.

GOD BLESS