Diagnostic Code 7019 · 38 CFR §4.104
Cardiac transplantation is a heart transplant — the replacement of a failing heart with a healthy donor heart. This is typically a last-resort treatment for end-stage heart failure that has not responded to other treatments. Veterans who require a heart transplant due to service-connected heart disease receive a 100 percent disability rating for at least one year following the transplant. After that period, the VA reassesses based on heart function, but the minimum permanent rating is 30 percent.
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 100% | |
| 60% | |
| 30% |
Operative report from the transplant surgery, Hospital discharge summary with dates, Post-transplant cardiology follow-up records including biopsy results for rejection monitoring, Echocardiogram with ejection fraction of the transplanted heart, Stress test or METs estimation after the one-year recovery period, Immunosuppression medication records, Service connection documentation for the heart disease that led to transplant