US Social Security Begins Using Revised Heart Disability Criteria

The United States Social Security Administration's revised medical criteria for evaluating cardiovascular disability claims took effect on Friday, 30 October 2026, changing how certain heart and blood-vessel conditions are assessed in federal disability programmes.

The final rule, published in the Federal Register on 2 July, updates the cardiovascular sections of the agency's Listing of Impairments for adults and children. The listings are used during disability evaluations to identify medical conditions severe enough to satisfy a specified stage of the review without a separate assessment of work capacity.

The revision introduces listings for aortic valvular disease, cardiomyopathy and cardiac allograft vasculopathy, a condition affecting blood vessels in a transplanted heart. It also updates existing criteria and medical terminology, reflecting developments in diagnosis and the agency's experience evaluating claims. Each listing contains specific medical and functional requirements; having a named diagnosis alone does not automatically establish eligibility.

The new criteria apply to applications filed on or after 30 October and to claims still pending on that date, according to the agency's rule. That includes cases already under consideration, rather than only new applicants. The agency says claims are not rejected solely because a condition fails to meet a listed impairment: applicants may still qualify under later stages of the disability evaluation process.

The rule is an update to the medical evaluation standards, not an announcement of higher benefit payments or automatic approval of previously denied claims. Applicants and adjudicators will need to consider the revised requirements and the medical evidence relevant to each condition.