What are the Disability Benefits for Heart Disease?

Updated December 23, 2025

Heart disease can affect your health and ultimately interfere with your ability to keep working. You may be able to receive benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income if you have a heart condition that keeps you from working.

Because the Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews these claims using detailed medical standards, many people turn to Pittsburgh Heart Disease disability lawyers to understand what evidence matters most. In the sections below, we’ll look more closely at how disability benefits work for heart disease and what factors can affect your eligibility.

Social Security Disability Insurance for Heart Disease

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is the primary disability program for workers who have paid into Social Security through their earnings. If you’ve worked long enough, you may already have the work credits required to qualify. In most cases, adults need about 20 recent work credits, though older workers may need more and younger workers may need fewer.

When the SSA reviews an SSDI claim based on heart disease, they look at how your condition limits your ability to perform the type of work you’ve done in the past and whether it prevents you from adjusting to other kinds of jobs. Symptoms such as fatigue, reduced exercise capacity, chest discomfort, or unpredictable cardiac episodes can all affect your ability to stay on task, meet physical demands, or manage workday routines.

Supplemental Security Income for Heart Disease

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs-based disability program for people with limited income and resources. Unlike SSDI, SSI does not require a work history or work credits. Instead, the SSA looks at your financial situation alongside your medical eligibility to determine whether you qualify.

For individuals with heart disease, SSI may be an option when symptoms make steady employment difficult and financial hardship is already present. The SSA evaluates the same types of medical evidence used in SSDI claims to determine how your condition limits your ability to perform everyday tasks or any type of work.

How the SSA Evaluates Heart Disease for Disability Benefits

Regardless of whether you apply for SSDI or SSI, the SSA uses the same medical standards to evaluate heart disease. It reviews diagnostic testing, documented symptoms, treatment history, and any limitations that remain even with appropriate care. This helps the agency determine whether your condition meets their criteria for a disabling impairment. These criteria can include:

• Results from imaging and diagnostic testing, such as EKGs, echocardiograms, or stress tests
• Evidence of reduced heart function or poor exercise tolerance
• Records of hospitalizations or emergency treatment
• Notes from your cardiologist documenting ongoing symptoms
• How fatigue, shortness of breath, pain, or limited stamina affect your daily activities and ability to work

The SSA may check whether your condition meets one of the heart-related listings in the SSA’s Listing of Impairments. If you don’t meet a specific listing, they move on to assessing your residual functional capacity (RFC), which is an evaluation of what work activities you can safely perform. This includes looking at whether you can maintain focus, stay on task, handle exertion, or complete a typical workday.

The SSA also considers whether your symptoms persist despite following your doctor’s recommended treatment, which helps them understand how your condition affects you over time.

The Disability Application and Appeals Process

Navigating the Social Security Disability system can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re managing the symptoms and demands of heart disease.

Initial Applications

The process begins with filing a disability application that explains your medical condition, work history, and how your heart disease limits your ability to function. The Social Security Administration reviews your medical evidence to determine whether your condition prevents you from working. 

Even when someone provides detailed medical documentation, many initial claims are denied simply because disability evaluations are complex and strict. A denial at this stage does not mean you’re ineligible; it often reflects the SSA’s thorough review process rather than the strength of your claim.

Appeals

If the SSA denies your initial application, you can move into the appeals process. The first step is reconsideration, where a different reviewer re-examines your file. If your claim is denied again, you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). 

These hearings may take place by phone, video, or in person and allow you to explain your symptoms, limitations, and medical history more fully. The Judge considers how your heart disease affects your ability to work and reviews all available evidence before issuing a decision. We strongly encourage you to have an attorney at this stage. 

If the ALJ also denies your claim, you can continue appealing through higher levels, such as the Appeals Council and even a federal court review. 

When You Should Consider Applying for Disability Benefits

Heart disease can change your life in ways you never expected. Many people try to push through their symptoms for as long as they can, but there comes a point when working every day becomes too difficult or even unsafe. If your condition makes it hard to keep up with your job, causes frequent absences, or leaves you exhausted after even small amounts of activity, it may be time to think seriously about applying for disability benefits.

You don’t have to wait until you’ve been out of work for a year. What matters is whether your doctors expect your limitations to last and whether your symptoms make full-time work unrealistic. 

Filing a disability claim can feel like a big step, but doing it sooner can help protect your financial stability while you focus on your health. Some people reach out to a disability lawyer at this stage for guidance, while others apply on their own. At Berger and Green, we can get your claim started by filing your application. We encourage you to speak with an attorney and ask any questions you have before you start the disability claims process. 

Seek Heart Disease Disability Benefits With Our Team Now

Living with heart disease is challenging, and navigating the Social Security disability process can add unnecessary stress. You can turn to Berger and Green for guidance.

With more than 40 years of experience helping people pursue SSDI and SSI benefits, our firm understands how overwhelming this process can feel. We can handle your application or appeal so you can focus on your health, not paperwork. Call now for your free consultation.