One More Question

[BUZZ]

He is going to file for CAD but I am wondering about this,he found out about having CAD about 8 to 10 years ago and had a stent put in.Will this be a problem when he files next week for CAD? He didn't know that he could of file ,years ago for this problem,I told him to file.

thank you all, for all the information, that you sent.

[Chuck75]

No, a stint by itself is not a problem. what can be a problem has to do with the way that the VA categorizes and rates, and the percentage of disability assigned.

One of the more important criteria for CAD based compensation is left ventricle efficiency. Traditionally, this was measured via such things as stress tests (physical or chemical), or the gold standard, heart catheterization. An LVEF of 60% or better is considered normal. Below 30% is 100% schedular,and usually P&T.

CAD or in VA speak IHD is presumptive for in country Vietnam veterans, and a very few other locations, if the veteran has evidence of possible exposure.

A real problem for many Vietnam veterans is obtaining the records of past medical treatment. Seems that some time ago, the government allowed hospitals,etc. to dispose of "old" records. I ran into this problem researching treatment for a back injury.

[Navy04]

Great advice given by Chuck. God Bless and good luck. Keep us posted.

[georgiapapa]

My cardiologist sends her records to a medical records storage facility. She provided me the information necessary to obtain records from the storage facility. I obtained records going back ten years without any problem. I did have to pay so much per page for the records but I received the records about a month later. I believe most doctors send their older records to records storage facilities.

Regardless of how far back your friend was diagnosed, his rating effective date will be the date the VA first receives his claim or informal notice of claim.

The most important medical records will be his most recent records showing the current status of his CAD. Since he hasn't been to a cardiologist in a couple of years, he needs an extensive cardio exam (stress test, echo, etc.) ASAP. After the cardiologist completes the

cardio exam, he/she would be in a better position to properly treat your friend and provide the information required on a DBQ. In my opinion, his exam would be scheduled quicker and would be more thorough if he uses a private cardiologist rather than a VA cardiologist.

Your friend is lucky to have a friend like you. Good luck to all.