Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, is a chronic condition that can negatively affect the patient’s quality of life. A patient suffering from this condition may experience an unstable heart rate and irregular blood pressure levels. These are caused by improper functioning of the autonomic nervous system.
A person affected with POTS can experience frequent fainting spells, headaches, dizziness, and other conditions. POTS often affects a person when they change positions suddenly. For example, when a POTS patient tries to sit up from a lying position or stand up from a sitting position, they might experience light headedness and dizziness that leads to fainting.
Common Symptoms of POTS
A POTS patient can frequently experience light headedness, fainting, increased heart rate, and low blood pressure. The following symptoms are also regularly associated with POTS symptoms:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Anxiety
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Tremors or shaking
- Excessive sweat
- Heart palpitations
If you or a family member is suffering from POTS and interested in learning more about disability benefits, call our office to schedule your free consultation today.
Read More to get more insights on how you can make the process of POTS disability claim easy and convenient through the help of a proficient SSD attorney.
How Does Pots Qualify For Disability Under the SSA?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers financial benefits through two programs called the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. The SSA publishes a rule book called the Blue Book which lists all the diseases treated as a disability by the SSA. Unfortunately, POTS is not listed as a stand alone disability in the Blue Book. This means that a diagnosis of POTS is not considered a disability by the SSA by itself.
POTS Syndrome And Disability can, however, be found when your disease symptoms are so severe that they leave you unable to perform daily activities and maintain employment. As mentioned above, people suffering from POTS often experience dizziness and can faint. These symptoms may directly affect your ability to work safely and may invite danger to other employees who work with you.
Eligibility Criteria for POTS Disability?
When their medical condition directly affects their job- The nature of your work may demand that you be on your feet for long hours. In such cases, you may not be able to continue working because your medical condition directly affects your ability to perform this type of work.
When they become a threat to the organization- POTS symptoms can distract from assigned work, which can lead to accidents. An organization may not want unfortunate accidents to happen on their premises due to someone’s inability to work properly. Therefore, a person suffering from POTS may be laid off from their job and unable to find new employment due to POTS-related symptoms.
When you are not qualified to undertake another job- When someone applies for SSDI benefits, the SSA evaluates whether the applicant is capable of performing other jobs that favor his health conditions. You may have to undergo a Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) assessment requested by SSA to prove his ability to continue employment.
If the person is not physically capable of performing other job duties due to POTS symptoms, he might be granted SSDI benefits. The ability to cope with a new environment, learn new skills, and age are also considered as part of the RFC assessment.
When POTS lead to some other disability- While POTS alone may not qualify as a disability under the SSA Blue Book, disabling symptoms can still be assessed when deciding whether to grant benefits.
If POTS leads to several other health issues that cumulatively restricts a person from working, they can still establish entitlement to disability benefits.
On the other hand, if POTS syndrome is responsible for a significant disability that affects the quality of work performed, then the applicant may also be granted disability benefits for the POTS-related condition.
