Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2000

The Board found that there is no competent evidence linking the veteran's current hypertension and ischemic heart disease to service, and thus denied the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for heart disability, gastrointestinal disability, and generalized joint pain. The heart disorder was attributed to his anxiety disorder. The gastrointestinal disability claim was not supported by objective indications of a chronic disability. Generalized joint pain (except for knee strain) was also not shown to be related to service.

The Board found that the cause of death was not service-connected and thus denied DIC benefits.

The appellant is not eligible for dependents educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to the absence of a permanent total service-connected disability during her father's lifetime and his death was not due to a service-connected disability.

The Board granted a 60 percent rating for hypertensive heart disease with chronic renal insufficiency, effective from August 14, 1995. The claim for service connection for residuals of trauma to the right tibia was reopened due to new and material evidence.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened and granted. His residuals of shell fragment wounds of the left forearm and right buttock were also granted increased evaluations, with a non-compensable evaluation for the left forearm and a compensable evaluation (10%) for the right buttock. Service connection for a heart disorder was well grounded.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disorder and a psychiatric disorder. The previous decisions denying these claims are not reopened.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and finds it well-grounded. The new evidence, including medical articles linking NSAIDs to gastrointestinal and liver disease, supports a plausible link between the veteran's service-connected ankylosing spondylitis and his death.

The veteran was entitled to reimbursement for unauthorized private inpatient care due to a medical emergency and the lack of feasible VA availability.

The Board has determined that the claim is well grounded and grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's heart disability was aggravated by active service, and therefore grants service connection for a heart disability.

The veteran is in need of regular aid and attendance due to service-connected intervertebral disc disease with severe lumbar spondylosis, chronic low back pain, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and coronary artery disease. The Board finds the evidence in equipoise as to whether this need for aid and attendance is related to a service-connected disability.

The Board denied the claim of additional DIC based on the appellant's need for regular aid and attendance due to her disabilities not rendering her helpless as required by VA regulations.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for secondary service connection for cardiovascular problems, including hypertension, was not well grounded due to a lack of medical evidence linking his cardiovascular issues to his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim of service connection for the cause of her husband's death is well-grounded and grants this claim. The issue of entitlement to DIC benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 remains pending.

The case is being remanded for an additional VA examination to determine the current severity of the service-connected coronary artery disease and whether it meets the criteria for a 100 percent rating under the revised rating criteria. The RO should also obtain any pertinent treatment records from non-VA providers.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding whether the veteran's psychiatric and cardiovascular disabilities are related to VA treatment.

The Board has granted an increased rating of 10 percent for the veteran's service-connected hypertension with coronary artery disease, effective from September 11, 1997.

The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, which resolves the issues of entitlement to benefits under 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 and 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death, a thalamic cerebral vascular accident, was not service-connected. The medical evidence does not support the claim that any service-connected condition contributed to his death.