The RFC form as an effective tool for winning your heart disease disability claim

If you are claiming disability based on heart disease, you probably already know that it is essential that you have good medical records to back up your claim.  But in my experience as a disability attorney, I have found another extremely effective tool for helping win your claim for disability benefits based on heart disease: The Residual Functional Capacity (or RFC) form.

If your lawyer knows what he is doing, he will most likely assist you in getting an RFC form filled out by your physician or cardiologist.  The objective of the RFC form is to provide an analysis of your illness and how it affects your functioning.  It is a simple and easy checklist which allows your physician to characterize your illness in a way that makes sense to the SSA.  In fact, the RFC form came about as a result of the SSA’s methodology for assessing claims; the RFC form lists specific functional limitations that are listed in the handbook used by your Social Security Judge.

The key is for you and your doctor to be able to document specific chronic conditions in detail and how they impact your functioning. Make sure your doctor knows all the activities that affect your breathing or cause chest pain. That’s the kind of information that might go on the form.

Heart disease is a common medical condition; thus, Social Security judges see these claims often.  That is why it is so important to go beyond simply providing health records but also trying to get an RFC form filled out.  Be sure to keep your doctor up to date with the latest developments with your heart disease.  And remember to keep your lawyer up to date with any recent treatment as well.  Hopefully, your lawyer will have a RFC form handy that can be sent to your doctor to be filled out before the hearing.