Asthma

Asthma is a long-term lung condition that makes the airways swell and tighten, causing trouble breathing, wheezing, and coughing. The VA recognizes asthma as a ratable disability under the respiratory part of its rules. To grant service connection, the VA generally looks for a current asthma diagnosis, an in-service event, injury, or exposure, and a link ("nexus") tying the two together. The VA notes that if asthma is not active during the exam, a verified history of asthmatic attacks must be in your records.

The VA rates asthma under 38 CFR 4.97, diagnostic code 6602, on a scale of 10, 30, 60, or 100 percent. Higher ratings are driven mainly by your breathing-test (pulmonary function) numbers and how much treatment you need. A 10 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 71-80 percent predicted, FEV-1/FVC of 71-80 percent, or intermittent inhaler or oral bronchodilator therapy. A 30 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 56-70 percent, FEV-1/FVC of 56-70 percent, or daily inhaled/oral bronchodilator therapy or inhaled anti-inflammatory medicine. A 60 percent rating reflects FEV-1 of 40-55 percent, FEV-1/FVC of 40-55 percent, at least monthly doctor visits for flare-ups, or at least three courses of systemic corticosteroids a year. The top 100 percent rating reflects FEV-1 under 40 percent, FEV-1/FVC under 40 percent, more than one attack per week with episodes of respiratory failure, or daily high-dose systemic corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medicine.

There is also a presumptive pathway that can remove the burden of proving a nexus. Under 38 CFR 3.320, asthma is treated as connected to fine particulate-matter exposure (the burn-pit pathway expanded by the PACT Act) and will be service connected if it shows up to any degree, including a non-compensable level, at any time after a qualifying period of service. A qualifying period means service in the Southwest Asia theater during the Persian Gulf War, or in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan on or after September 19, 2001. Veterans with this kind of service are presumed to have been exposed to fine particulate matter unless there is affirmative evidence they were not.

If a claim is denied, that is a starting point, not the end, and the VA has review and appeal options. This is general educational information about how the VA's rules work, not legal advice or a VA decision about your individual claim.