A lung condition causing inflammation and scarring of the air sacs that may lead to breathing difficulty.
Because the rating turns on specific pulmonary function test values, medical records that include those test results are central to your claim. Spirometry reports showing your FVC as a percentage of the predicted value directly correspond to three of the four rating levels. DLCO (SB) test results, which measure how well your lungs transfer gas into the blood, cover the same levels. If exercise testing has been done, records showing your maximum oxygen consumption and whether cardiorespiratory limitation was noted are relevant to the 100% and 60% levels.
Records documenting a diagnosis of cor pulmonale or pulmonary hypertension, or showing that a physician has prescribed outpatient oxygen therapy, support the 100% level. Treatment notes, imaging studies, and pulmonologist reports that track the progression of your condition over time help establish how your lungs are functioning. Statements from you or people who know you describing how breathing difficulty affects your ability to work, exercise, or carry out daily activities can give VA a fuller picture of your functional limitations alongside the objective test findings.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
