You served your country with honor, but your combat experiences continue to affect your daily life years after returning home. Now you’re dealing with chest pain, high blood pressure, or other heart problems, and can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection to your post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Medical research shows you were right to be concerned, as studies reveal a troubling link between chronic PTSD symptoms and an increased cardiovascular disease risk in veterans. Fortunately, there’s help.
Longtime Veterans' benefits attorney Sean Kendall and his skilled team understand how service-connected mental health conditions can lead to serious physical health problems. We help Veterans nationwide establish service connection for heart conditions that develop secondary to PTSD, ensuring you receive the full benefits you deserve for all service-related health issues. Contact us today to learn more.
Examining the Science Behind PTSD and Heart Disease Among Veterans
Veterans with PTSD face significantly higher rates of cardiovascular disease compared to the general population. The condition triggers a chronic stress response, creating a cascade of physical changes that directly impact heart health.
Remaining in a constant state of hypervigilance causes the body to release elevated levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. This ongoing PTSD response damages blood vessels, increases inflammation throughout the body, and raises blood pressure. Over time, these changes can contribute to the development of numerous cardiovascular conditions, including:
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart attacks
- Irregular heart rhythms
- Hypertension
- Stroke
Medical research has demonstrated a link between PTSD and cardiovascular disease in Veterans for more than a decade. Two newer studies from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers provide additional insight. Published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2025, long observational studies of Vietnam War Veterans for 35 years found that combat exposure and PTSD were strong predictors of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
Veterans with severe PTSD symptoms showed measurably higher rates of heart disease, often developing cardiovascular problems decades earlier than their civilian counterparts. Veterans who faced intense combat were most at risk, with those who experienced higher combat levels being twice as likely to report heart disease compared to those with less exposure. They're also up to 60 percent more likely to develop heart disease than former military personnel without PTSD.
How Does PTSD Damage Your Cardiovascular System?
The biological mechanisms linking PTSD to heart disease involve multiple body systems working against your cardiovascular health. Understanding these connections helps establish the medical foundation for your disability claim.
Chronic Inflammation
PTSD triggers ongoing inflammation throughout your body, which damages the inner lining of your arteries and accelerates the buildup of plaque, leading to blockages that can cause heart attacks. Blood tests often show elevated inflammatory markers in veterans with chronic PTSD.
Sleep Disruption
Veterans with PTSD frequently experience sleep disorders, including insomnia and intense nightmares. Poor sleep quality directly contributes to high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and an increased risk of heart disease. The lack of restorative sleep prevents your cardiovascular system from properly recovering each night.
Lifestyle Factors
PTSD symptoms often lead to behaviors that further damage heart health. Many Veterans turn to smoking, excessive drinking, or overeating as coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, these behaviors compound the direct physiological effects PTSD has on your cardiovascular system.
Establishing Service Connection for Heart Conditions Secondary to PTSD
The Veterans Administration (VA) recognizes that service-connected conditions can cause or worsen other medical problems. When your heart disease results from your service-connected PTSD, you may qualify for secondary service connection benefits.
Establishing this vital connection requires your claim to demonstrate:
- Primary service connection for PTSD. You need an existing VA rating for PTSD related to your military service—meaning that the VA has already recognized that your condition stems from a traumatic event or stressor during your active-duty military service. If you don’t currently have a service connection for PTSD, you must establish that first before pursuing a secondary claim for heart disease.
- Medical evidence of heart disease. It's crucial to have documentation from cardiologists, heart tests, and medical records detailing your cardiovascular condition. This includes diagnostic tests like EKGs, echocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations, and stress tests confirming your heart disease diagnosis. Your medical records should also document when your heart problems began and how they progressed.
- Medical nexus opinion. A medical professional’s opinion stating that your heart disease is “at least as likely as not” caused or worsened by your PTSD is essential to securing the best possible outcome. The doctor must specifically address how your PTSD symptoms and chronic stress response have contributed to your cardiovascular problems. This opinion should reference current medical literature linking PTSD to heart disease and explain how this connection applies to your specific case.
The Sean Kendall Law Firm works with medical professionals who understand the PTSD-cardiovascular connection to help build strong nexus opinions for secondary service connection claims.
Exploring Common Heart Conditions Linked to PTSD
Veterans with PTSD develop a variety of cardiovascular problems that may qualify for secondary service connection. The most common heart conditions include:
- Coronary artery disease. When plaque buildup narrows the arteries supplying blood to your heart muscle, coronary artery disease is the result. Veterans with chronic PTSD often show accelerated development of this condition due to ongoing inflammation and stress. This narrowing of arteries can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and potentially fatal heart attacks if left untreated.
- Hypertension. High blood pressure affects most veterans with severe PTSD. The constant activation of your stress response keeps blood pressure elevated, damaging blood vessels throughout your body. Over time, uncontrolled hypertension increases your risk of stroke, kidney disease, and heart failure.
- Cardiac arrhythmias. Caused by a disruption of electrical signals to the heart, cardiac arrhythmias involve irregular heart rhythms that can range from mild to life-threatening. PTSD’s hyperarousal symptoms can trigger these rhythm disturbances, particularly during stress or anxiety episodes. Atrial fibrillation is a dangerous arrhythmia that causes the heart’s upper and lower chambers to beat out of sync, significantly increasing stroke risk and often requiring ongoing medication or medical procedures.
Strengthening Your Secondary Service Connection Claim
Building a successful claim for heart disease secondary to PTSD requires comprehensive medical documentation and legal strategy. At the Sean Kendall Law Firm, our experienced Veterans' benefits attorneys help clients gather the evidence needed to prove this connection, advocating for your best interest at every stage of litigation. We help Veterans:
- Obtain complete cardiac evaluations from qualified cardiologists.
- Document the timeline showing that your heart problems developed after your PTSD diagnosis.
- Secure strong medical opinions linking your cardiovascular condition to your service-connected PTSD.
- Gain the benefits you deserve for all your service-connected health problems.
The VA often initially denies secondary service connection claims, particularly for conditions like heart disease that have multiple potential causes. Having an experienced Veterans' benefits lawyer ensures that your claim includes all necessary medical evidence and legal arguments to establish the required connection.
You Fought for Our Country—Let Sean Kendall Fight for You
Our accomplished legal team has decades of experience handling VA disability claims. We know our way around a courtroom, with Kendall appearing before all current U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims judges. We’ve also built an impressive network of medical professionals who understand the scientific connections between PTSD and cardiovascular disease, ensuring that your case includes medical evidence as compelling as our legal arguments. Our track record of winning claims worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for members of the military demonstrates our ability to build successful cases even when the VA initially denies benefits.
You dedicated your life to our country and deserve full benefits for all service-related health conditions. Don’t wait another day to discover how our adept team of Veterans' benefits attorneys can be of service to you.