I was diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome 24 years ago and a pacemaker was implanted. I have been taking Dijoxin, Tambocor and also have been on Coumadin. I was exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam in 1966. The VA denied my claim at the time because no link was established by their researchers between the herbicides and Acute Arrhythmia. Has any progress been made in linking Arrhythmia and Agent Orange since then?
Hello! Thank you for asking on Chat Doctor! I understand your concern, and would like to explain that Agent Orange has been proven already to cause several serious health conditions, like congenital malformations, several types of cancer, skin irritation, many organs dysfunctions, etc. A way to confirm a direct harmful effect of this herbicide to any pathological health conditions is to confirm the exposure on highly contaminated area for sufficient periods of time, to demonstrate that pathological changes were not present before dangerous exposure occurred (by prior medical records and tests), and the most important of all, to confirm abnormally high blood levels of dioxin(by special lab tests) when the disease appears. Another precise method is to examine heart tissue samples for specific morphological changes related to toxic exposure. Hope to have been helpful! Greetings! 