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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 Board decisions mentioning 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 whole-decision outcomes, not condition-specific success rates or a prediction of your case.
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These are decision-level labels in granted or partly granted decisions mentioning Ischemic heart disease. They do not establish which theory succeeded for this condition.
In appeals where Ischemic heart disease was the only condition decided and the Board granted it, the rating most often assigned was:
A decision may address several conditions. Its overall outcome or exposure tags do not establish what happened to each individual claim. Verify the specific issue against the original Board decision.
Browse decisions mentioning Ischemic heart disease →Jump to the decisions from a specific year.
Coverage is incomplete and may lag publication. 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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