Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to further development of evidence being required. The appeals for service connection for heart and back disabilities, as well as for a psychiatric disability, are pending.

The Board has ordered the case remanded for an examination to determine if the veteran's service-connected PTSD could have aggravated his cardiovascular disorder, irrespective of whether the PTSD was the direct cause of the condition.

The Board has determined that the effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is December 3, 2007. The issues of service connection for gastrointestinal disability and coronary artery disease to include as secondary to PTSD are remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical examinations and opinions regarding the veteran's service-connected sinusitis and its impact on his other claimed disabilities.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his hypertensive heart disease with hypertension and diabetes mellitus with peripheral vascular disease and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence, including medical records from the Philadelphia VAMC.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, chronic renal insufficiency, and peripheral neuropathy, are not related to his military service or service-connected diabetes mellitus. As such, these claims for secondary service connection have been denied.

The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and thus denied his claim for service connection for the cause of his death.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD has likely made worse his pre-existing coronary artery disease, warranting secondary service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current heart disability was not incurred in or aggravated by an in-service injury, and therefore service connection is denied.

The veteran died due to cardiopulmonary arrest caused by pancreatic carcinoma, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic renal insufficiency. The RO must remand the case for proper VCAA notice and further development.

The veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, bronchial asthma, a disability manifested by chest pain, and arterial hypertension have all been denied as there is no competent medical evidence of current diagnoses or a link to military service.

The Board denied the claims for service connection for the cause of death, eligibility to Survivors and Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits under Chapter 35, and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease do not warrant a rating higher than 30 percent as of November 18, 2003.

The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease as secondary to the veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.

The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses for emergency treatment from February 20, 2006 to February 26, 2006 are approved as the treatment was deemed necessary due to a medical emergency and no VA facility was feasibly available.

The veteran's service-connected rheumatic heart disease does not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and industrial background, thus the claim for a TDIU is denied.

The Board denied service connection for prostatitis, a clinical lesion of the jaw, colon polyps, hypertension, and arteriosclerotic heart disease. The veteran's conditions are not related to his military service or exposure to herbicides.

The Board has determined that there is not a medical relationship between the veteran's heart disability and hypertension, as claimed secondary to service-connected PTSD. The VA examiner found no likely connection.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the local RO.