Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2009

The Board is remanding the case due to a change in representation and new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The case will be returned for further action.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his psychiatric disorder, rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment from September 21, 1999, until February 6, 2007.

The appellant withdrew all of his claims before the Board could make a decision.

The Board denied the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for a heart disability, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for the cause of his death.

The Board finds that the cause of death, aspiration pneumonia due to stroke related dysphagia, was not caused by any service-connected disability. The Veteran had no established service connection for any condition prior to his death.

The Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for coronary artery disease with a bypass graft and hypertension are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for heart disease and emphysema, both of which were secondary to his service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis. The new evidence submitted did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate these claims.

The Board has ordered a remand for further examination and opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's diagnosed heart disability and his period of active service or to his service-connected tachycardia or hypertension.

The Board has determined that the RO's decisions denying service connection for a heart disability and fatigue were not clearly and unmistakably erroneous.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining relevant private treatment records and providing a written rationale addressing the etiological relationship between the Veteran's coronary artery disease and fatal myocardial infarction.

The Board denied the appellant's application to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease is not caused by or related to his service-connected major depression, and therefore denied the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits due to lack of evidence linking the Veteran's conditions to his service-connected condition or any other causal relationship.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining an addendum from a VA examiner regarding the etiology of the Veteran's heart disabilities and whether they are related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for GERD and a heart condition, to include hypertension, finding that the Veteran's current conditions were not related to his active service or service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to ischemic cardiomyopathy, which the Board found not related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to obtain medical records and provide a VA examination.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease was not incurred in service and is not related to herbicide exposure. The erectile dysfunction claim has been mischaracterized, as the Veteran testified that his claim should be for service connection based on a current disability (vascular impedance) rather than secondary to service-connected CABG.,Bilateral lower extremity pain, weakness, and numbness were not caused or aggravated by service-connected disability.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection was denied. The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated as 10 percent disabling, his heart disease has not been linked to service, and the claimed chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, and blackout spells are not related to service.