A cardiac condition is resulting in preclusion from heavy lifting. What is the scheduled rating?

• A. 20%
• B. 15%
• C. 10%
• D. 25%

Answer: (A)

In this area, ratings for heart conditions are tied to how the condition limits your work capacity. If the impairment is such that you’re precluded from heavy lifting, that level of functional limitation matches a twenty percent rating. It signals a clear, but not extreme, restriction: you can still do light work or sedentary tasks, but heavy manual labor is not possible.

The other numbers don’t fit this level of limitation. A ten percent rating would reflect milder impairment not preventing heavy labor, while fifteen and twenty-five percent aren’t standard matchups for this specific criterion. Higher ratings would require more severe signs (like congestive heart failure or markedly reduced exercise tolerance).