Heart Attack and Coronary Artery Disease VA Claim: DC 7005, DC 7006, METs and How to File (2026)

Most veterans do not search "DC 7005." They search "heart attack VA claim" or "coronary artery disease VA rating." This guide answers those searches in plain language, based on the current text of the VA rating schedule. For the Agent Orange side of heart disease in more depth, see our ischemic heart disease VA claim guide. This page focuses on how the heart attack and CAD ratings actually work.

How Does VA Rate a Heart Attack or Coronary Artery Disease?

The rules are in 38 CFR 4.104, the cardiovascular part of the rating schedule. Two diagnostic codes matter most for the searches above:

• DC 7005 is arteriosclerotic heart disease, which is coronary artery disease (CAD).
• DC 7006 is myocardial infarction, the medical term for a heart attack.

DC 7005 has no separate criteria of its own. It is rated under the General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Heart, which also covers most other heart conditions unless a code says otherwise. The eCFR text we checked was current as of October 29, 2026.

Both DC 7005 and DC 7006 use this table. Heart failure symptoms here include breathlessness, fatigue, angina, dizziness, arrhythmia, palpitations or syncope (fainting), and the list is not limited to those.

What Are METs and How Are They Measured?

The regulation defines one MET as the energy cost of standing quietly at rest, an oxygen uptake of 3.5 milliliters per kilogram of body weight per minute. Higher METs mean more physical effort. The rating asks at what level of effort your symptoms begin.

Ideally that comes from an exercise stress test. The rule also covers veterans who cannot safely be tested. If a laboratory METs determination cannot be done for medical reasons, a medical examiner may estimate the activity level, expressed in METs and supported by specific examples such as slow stair climbing or shoveling snow, that results in symptoms.

That is why the way you describe your limits at a C&P exam matters. Specific, honest examples (how many stairs, what pace, what stops you) give the examiner something concrete to record. Our C&P exam guide covers how exams work in general.

Does VA Still Use LVEF and CHF Episodes?

Many older web pages say VA rates heart disease by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and by the number of congestive heart failure (CHF) episodes. That described the older schedule. VA's final rule revising the cardiovascular rating criteria took effect November 14, 2021, and the current 38 CFR 4.104 text we reviewed does not contain an ejection fraction criterion for the General Rating Formula. It is built on METs, plus the imaging finding of cardiac hypertrophy or dilatation and the continuous medication criterion at the lower levels.

That does not make your echocardiogram irrelevant. The 30% level can be met by hypertrophy or dilatation confirmed on echocardiogram or equivalent imaging, and imaging helps an examiner understand your condition. But if you read a forum post telling you that you need an LVEF under a certain number, check it against the current regulation. If a claim was decided under older criteria, ask an accredited representative how the current criteria apply to you.

What Rating Does a Heart Attack Get?

Under DC 7006, VA assigns 100% "during and for three months following myocardial infarction, confirmed by laboratory tests." After that, the rule says to use the General Rating Formula. So the temporary 100% period is not permanent, and your rating afterward depends on the same METs-based table above. A 100% rating at this stage is a decision VA makes from your records; keep your hospital records and lab results, because the "confirmed by laboratory tests" language is part of the rule.

A heart attack is often the event that reveals underlying coronary artery disease, so many veterans end up with both diagnoses. VA's rating rules say the same disability should not be rated twice under different diagnoses (38 CFR 4.14), so ask your representative how your diagnoses will be coded.

What About Bypass Surgery and Other Heart Conditions?

• Coronary bypass surgery (DC 7017): 100% for three months following hospital admission for surgery; after that, the General Rating Formula.
• Hypertensive heart disease (DC 7007): rated under the General Rating Formula.
• Cardiomyopathy (DC 7020) is a separate code in the same section of 4.104.
• Hypertension itself is evaluated separately from hypertensive heart disease and other heart disease, per the notes to the hypertension code. See our hypertension rating guide.

The regulation also notes that if non-service-connected arteriosclerotic heart disease is superimposed on service-connected valvular or other non-arteriosclerotic heart disease, VA is to request a medical opinion on which condition is causing the current signs and symptoms.

How Do I Get Service Connection for Heart Disease?

A rating only follows service connection. In general there are four routes:

• Direct: your heart condition began in or was caused by service, shown by medical evidence and a link to service.
• Chronic disease within one year: "cardiovascular-renal disease, including hypertension" is on the chronic disease list in 38 CFR 3.309(a). Under 3.307(a)(3), the disease must have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year of separation from service.
• Presumptive: ischemic heart disease for qualifying Agent Orange exposure (next section).
• Secondary: under 38 CFR 3.310, a disability proximately due to, or aggravated by, a service-connected condition can be service connected. See our secondary service connection guide.

Is Coronary Artery Disease Presumptive for Agent Orange?

For Veterans who meet VA's herbicide exposure requirements, yes: VA's Agent Orange page lists ischemic heart disease among the presumptive conditions. In 38 CFR 3.309(e), ischemic heart disease is defined to include acute, subacute and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable and Prinzmetal's angina.

Two details trip up veterans. First, the same definition says ischemic heart disease does not include hypertension, peripheral manifestations of arteriosclerosis such as peripheral vascular disease, or stroke. Second, VA lists high blood pressure (hypertension) as its own presumptive condition on the same page, so it is evaluated as a separate claim. Who qualifies as exposed depends on where and when you served; see our guides to Agent Orange presumptive conditions and the ischemic heart disease claim for the details.

Can Hypertension or PTSD Lead to a Heart Claim?

Hypertension. If hypertension is service connected, a heart condition you believe it caused or aggravated could be claimed as secondary under 38 CFR 3.310. VA will still look for medical evidence of the connection. Our posts on rating hypertension, hypertension secondary to PTSD and nexus letters for hypertension explain that side.

PTSD. VA's National Center for PTSD summarizes a meta-analysis of 20 observational studies that found people with PTSD had an increased risk of any cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke. The same VA page also notes that PTSD improvement was not related to cardiovascular outcomes in some large studies of VHA patients, so the science is not a simple one-way street. Research like this is background, not proof for your case. A secondary claim generally needs a clinician's opinion, based on your own records, on whether your service-connected PTSD more likely than not caused or aggravated your heart disease. See the PTSD secondary conditions guide and the nexus letter tool.

How Do I File a Heart Disease Claim?

1. Gather records. Hospital and ER records for the heart attack, cath and imaging reports, stress test results, medication lists, and cardiology notes. Service treatment records if the problem started in service.
2. Get your tests on file. Because the rating turns on METs, a documented stress test (or your cardiologist's estimate where testing is unsafe) is core evidence.
3. File the claim. You can file online at VA.gov (VA Form 21-526EZ), by mail, or with an accredited representative. Our how-to-file guide walks through the steps.
4. Attend the C&P exam. Describe symptoms and activity limits with concrete examples.
5. Review the decision. If you disagree, VA's decision review options exist; an accredited representative can explain them.

If you have more than one condition, use the combined ratings calculator to see how VA's combined-rating math works. To find accredited help, use VA's accreditation search. If a heart event is urgent or you have symptoms now, call 911; a claim can wait, your health cannot.

2026 VA Disability Pay Rates for Heart Ratings

Monthly rates for a Veteran with no dependents, effective December 1, 2025, from VA's compensation rates page:

Rates for dependents and other ratings are in our 2026 pay rates chart. Payment depends on your combined rating, not only the heart rating.

Sources

• 38 CFR § 4.104, eCFR
• Federal Register: Schedule for Rating Disabilities: The Cardiovascular System (Sept. 30, 2021)
• 38 CFR §§ 3.307, 3.309, 3.310, eCFR
• VA.gov: Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation
• VA National Center for PTSD: PTSD and physical health
• VA.gov: Current disability compensation rates

Frequently Asked Questions