Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2008

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased disability rating for service-connected rheumatic heart disease and his claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence showing a compensable level of impairment or a relationship between the service-connected condition and the claimed secondary condition.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected chronic right obliterative pleurisy did not cause or contribute to his death from aspiration pneumonia, altered mental state, and other underlying conditions.

The Board found that the veteran's cause of death, pneumonia with atherosclerotic heart disease, was not related to his service and denied the claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease does not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 30 percent, as his symptoms do not prevent him from achieving a workload of greater than 5 METs on testing and he generally maintains an ejection fraction above 50%. He has no evidence of congestive heart failure.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for PTSD, heart condition, sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, and memory loss to allow for proper development of evidence, including notification regarding personal assault claims and VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that service connection is granted for a heart disability and tinnitus, but denied hearing loss. The decision also reopened the veteran's claims for these conditions.

The veteran's death was not caused by VA hospitalization or medical treatment, and the Board found that compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for his death is denied.

The veteran's claim for secondary service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, a disorder of the left lower extremity, glaucoma, and bladder disorder is denied as there are no current diagnoses that support these claims.,The veteran's claim for secondary service connection for coronary artery disease (including hypertension) is denied as there is no evidence of such condition.

The veteran is seeking service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) that he claims is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II. The case has been remanded due to the need to obtain relevant Social Security Administration records and provide notice of the evidentiary requirements for a secondary service connection claim.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of a diagnosed heart disorder, left great toe disorder, arthritis in the hands or ankles. Therefore, service connection for these conditions cannot be established.

The veteran's claims for service connection and compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. ¶ 1151 are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and an opinion from a physician regarding the cause of his digestive system infection and stomach hole.

The veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the back, peptic ulcer disease, tinnitus, coronary artery disease, essential hypertension, and PTSD were denied. The claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was granted with a current evaluation of 60 percent.

The VA has determined that the veteran's rheumatic heart disease with aortic valve replacement warrants a rating of 60 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available for this condition.

The veteran's claim for service connection was denied, and he died without having a pending claim or existing rating that would qualify him for accrued benefits.

The veteran's death was caused by coronary artery disease, which is service-connected. The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death and therefore does not need to address the DIC claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disorder, including cardiomyopathy, as it is not presumed to be due to herbicide exposure during active military service. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection either.

The veteran's appeal is dismissed due to his death, and the issues of earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE are not considered.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining clinical records of the veteran's hospitalizations and scheduling a VA examination to address whether any current valvular heart disease is related to service, specifically the heart murmur noted in service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease and hypertension, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected major depression.

The veteran seeks service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease with angina and severe three vessel coronary artery disease, status post myocardial infarction. The VA has conducted multiple examinations but did not provide an opinion on whether the condition is related to diabetes mellitus or permanently aggravated by it.