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VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 7005
Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a heart condition the VA recognizes and rates under its cardiovascular rules. In plain terms, it is reduced blood flow to the heart. The VA rates it under 38 CFR 4.104 using diagnostic code 7005, "Arteriosclerotic heart disease (coronary artery disease)." The VA defines ischemic heart disease broadly to include things like old or new heart attacks (myocardial infarction), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease and coronary bypass surgery, and stable, unstable, and Prinzmetal's angina. It does not include high blood pressure (hypertension) or peripheral problems such as peripheral vascular disease or stroke.
The percentage rating is based on a "General Rating Formula for Diseases of the Heart," which mainly looks at your workload in METs (metabolic equivalents) before heart symptoms appear, plus a few other measures. A 10 percent rating applies when a workload of 7.1-10.0 METs causes heart failure symptoms, or when you need continuous medication for control. A 30 percent rating applies at 5.1-7.0 METs with symptoms, or with cardiac hypertrophy or dilatation confirmed by echocardiogram or equivalent imaging. A 60 percent rating applies at 3.1-5.0 METs with symptoms, and a 100 percent rating applies at 3.0 METs or less with symptoms. Heart symptoms here can include breathlessness, fatigue, angina, dizziness, arrhythmia, palpitations, or fainting (syncope).
There is also an exposure pathway that can make service connection easier. Under 38 CFR 3.309(e), ischemic heart disease is on the VA's list of conditions presumed to be connected to exposure to certain herbicide agents, such as Agent Orange. When a veteran qualifies as exposed and meets the other rules, the VA can presume the condition is service-connected even without a record of it during service, which removes the usual burden of proving a direct link (nexus). If a claim is denied, that is a starting point, not the end, since other evidence or appeal options may still apply.
This is educational information about how the VA's rules generally work; it is not legal advice or a VA decision.
Grounded in federal regulations and VA guidance, independently reviewed June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.
Across 46,961 real Board appeals for Ischemic heart disease
A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are historical outcomes, not a prediction of your case.
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Among the appeals that were granted or partly granted, the most common ways Ischemic heart disease was linked to service:
In appeals where Ischemic heart disease was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
These appeals involved a recognized exposure — which can mean the link to service is presumed, with no nexus to prove:
The Veteran's claim for a heart disability prior to his death is granted as he was entitled to accrued benefits due to the September 1994 claim, which included ischemic heart disease, a covered herbicide disease.
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for coronary heart disease effective February 10, 2021. The Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date or increased rating.
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as service connected due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents while serving aboard the USS Intrepid within 12 nautical miles of the Republic of Vietnam.
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type II, diabetic nephropathy, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to special monthly compensation based on housebound status and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) are remanded.
Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
New decisions are added every week, and older years are actively being backfilled — a year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.
Veterans appealing Ischemic heart disease often look at outcomes for these too:
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