Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2007

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for head injury residuals, right kidney disability, heart disability, and left ear sensorineural hearing loss due to a lack of competent medical evidence supporting these conditions.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a chronic sleep disorder due to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension, heart condition, and high cholesterol. Service connection was granted for pes planus but not for mechanical low back pain or pancreatitis with removal of gall bladder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current heart condition is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute substantially to his death. The medical evidence does not indicate that his coronary artery disease or pulmonary fibrosis were present in service, or etiologically related to service.

The veteran's death was not caused by, or substantially contributed to, a disability incurred in service. The basic eligibility requirements for DEA under Chapter 35 have not been met.

The veteran's COPD and CAD were found to have manifested during service and are related to service, thus granting the veteran service connection for these conditions.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to new and material evidence. The Board found that the veteran's in-service exposure to chlorine gas was not causally related to any disorder that contributed to his death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected heart disease does not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent.

The veteran's service-connected PTSD played a material causal role in his continued use of tobacco products after service, which contributed to the development of fatal lung cancer. The Board grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.