Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Cardiovascular · Social Security Disability
Also called aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, cerebral aneurysm, brain aneurysm.
An aneurysm can support SSDI or SSI when an aortic or major-branch dissection is not controlled under Listing 4.10, when a related heart, kidney, or neurologic listing is met, or when residual limits rule out sustained work. A stable, untreated size measurement, a family history of aneurysm, or a clipped brain aneurysm with full recovery is not an approval.
What is Aneurysm?
NHLBI describes an aneurysm as a bulge in an artery wall. Aortic aneurysms may involve the chest or abdomen. Dissection is separation of the artery’s inner lining. Brain aneurysms occur on cerebral arteries and present a stroke and subarachnoid-hemorrhage risk. Causes include atherosclerosis, connective-tissue disease, trauma, and hypertension. Treatment may include surveillance, endovascular repair, or open surgery.
Common symptoms of Aneurysm
- Chest, back, or abdominal pain with aortic disease
- A pulsatile abdominal mass in some aortic aneurysms
- Sudden severe headache, collapse, or neurologic change if a brain aneurysm ruptures
- No symptoms until enlargement or rupture in many people
- After repair, activity limits, wound issues, or medication effects
How can Aneurysm affect a person’s ability to work?
- Lifting and strenuous-work limits while dissection is uncontrolled or during recovery
- Absences for imaging, surgery, and cardiology or neurosurgery follow-up
- Need to avoid heavy straining when advised by a treating provider
- After rupture or stroke, the neurologic limits on the stroke guide
- Fatigue and standing limits after major vascular surgery
Does Social Security have a Listing for Aneurysm?
Social Security currently has listing criteria that may apply: 4.10 (Aneurysm of aorta or major branches). Meeting a listing requires the specific medical findings in that listing, not only the diagnosis.
Listing 4.10 requires medically acceptable imaging of an aneurysm of the aorta or a major branch, due to any cause (for example atherosclerosis, cystic medial necrosis, Marfan syndrome, or trauma), with dissection not controlled by prescribed treatment. Section 4.00H6 explains that dissection is not controlled when chest pain persists from progression, the aneurysm enlarges, or a branch supplying the heart, kidneys, brain, or other organs is compressed. Associated heart failure, kidney failure, or neurologic complications are evaluated under those listings if 4.10 is not met. Cerebral (berry) aneurysms are not Listing 4.10. Rupture with stroke is evaluated under 11.04 or other neurologic listings. Repair that restores control may end the 4.10 path; residual RFC still matters.
For aortic or major-branch disease, SSA applies Listing 4.10 to imaging plus uncontrolled dissection as 4.00H6 defines it. If 4.10 is not met, related 4.02, 6.00, or 11.00 listings may still apply. Brain aneurysms are a neurologic analysis. A repaired, controlled aortic aneurysm often proceeds through RFC rather than 4.10.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. Aneurysms that miss 4.10 still may preclude work through combined cardiac, neurologic, or postoperative RFC.
What medical evidence may help document Aneurysm?
- CT, MR, or catheter angiography identifying location and dissection
- Vascular-surgery or cardiology notes on control of dissection and size change
- Operative reports of open or endovascular repair
- Neurosurgery records for cerebral aneurysms, including rupture and clipping or coiling
- Stroke rehabilitation notes when hemorrhage occurred
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- Medically acceptable vascular imaging as Listing 4.10 requires
- Echocardiography when aortic-root or heart involvement is evaluated
- No diameter cutoff on this page substitutes for the official listing text
Surveillance intervals, blood-pressure control, and dates of repair belong in one timeline. Persistent pain or documented enlargement after treatment supports the “not controlled” analysis; a healed repair does not.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
Even after successful repair, lifting, standing, and recovery time may limit work. Cerebral aneurysm without rupture may have few RFC limits if imaging is incidental and function is normal.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Aneurysm
Treating every brain aneurysm as Listing 4.10; citing size alone without uncontrolled dissection; or omitting postoperative function.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
Imaging that names the vessel, a clear statement whether dissection is controlled, and neurologic records if a cerebral aneurysm ruptured.
Aneurysm and related medical conditions
- Chronic Kidney Disease — Current Listing 6.00 includes separate pathways for ongoing dialysis, kidney transplant, impaired kidney function with complications, and repeated CKD hospitalizations.
- Congestive Heart Failure — Chronic heart failure can reduce exertional capacity and cause fluid buildup. Listing 4.02 requires the specific medical and functional findings in the current cardiovascular rules.
- Coronary Artery Disease — Narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries may cause myocardial ischemia. Listing 4.04 applies only when its prescribed-treatment and severity criteria are documented.
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome — Ehlers-Danlos syndrome has no dedicated adult SSA listing. SSA evaluates documented joint instability, vascular complications, skin findings, autonomic effects, and other manifestations under the affected body systems and through residual functional capacity when no listing is met.
- Stroke — SSA evaluates stroke as vascular insult to the brain under Listing 11.04. The listing uses three-month persistence criteria for its communication, motor, and combined physical-and-mental pathways, while SSA's neurological guidance allows an earlier decision in some cases when the available evidence is sufficient.
How Brock & Stout may help
We distinguish aortic Listing 4.10 from cerebral-aneurysm stroke analysis, gather imaging and operative records, and develop RFC after repair. Representation cannot guarantee approval.
Frequently asked questions
No. Listing 4.10 is aneurysm of the aorta or major branches with uncontrolled dissection. Cerebral aneurysms are evaluated under neurologic listings if complications such as stroke occur, or through residual functional capacity.
No. Successful control of dissection may mean 4.10 is no longer met. SSA then evaluates residual impairment and RFC.
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Aneurysm is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. If we represent you, you do not owe attorney fees or case costs if the claim is denied.
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This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
