Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2009

The Veteran is currently in receipt of a 60 percent rating for hypertensive heart disease as of March 29, 2005. He has not been granted the requested higher ratings for hypertension and hypertensive heart disease prior to this date.

The Board found that the Veteran's PTSD, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease are all service-connected due to their relationship with pre-existing conditions or secondary to hypertension.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for heart conditions, attributing it to a direct relationship with his service-connected PTSD.

The Board found that the Veteran's coronary artery disease is unrelated to his service-connected PTSD and denied the claim.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for any of the appellant's claimed disabilities, as none are on the presumptive list associated with herbicide exposure.

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

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for further development of his exposure history and medical records.

The Board is remanding the claims of increased rating for anxiety disorder, service connection for PTSD, service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease as secondary to anxiety disorder, and service connection for tinnitus due to procedural deficiencies in notification. The Veteran will need a VA examination to clarify his mental health diagnoses and determine if there is a separate diagnosis of PTSD. A VA examination will also be needed to assess the etiology of the Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral pes planus was aggravated during service and a left ankle disability was incurred in service. The other conditions were not established as being related to service.

The Veteran's service connection claim for PTSD is granted, and the Board finds that his current symptoms are linked to in-service stressors. The VA examiner opined that his hypertension, headaches, and CAD may be aggravated by his PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for the residuals of Valley Fever, finding that the clinical findings in the Veteran's lungs detected in 1977 and present in 2008 are the residuals of infection that was the result of exposure to coccidioides imitis (Valley Fever) during active service. The heart condition and arthritis claims remain pending.

The Veteran's nonservice-connected pension benefits are granted due to his disability determined by the Social Security Administration.

The Board found that the Veteran's eye disorders and CAD are not related to his service-connected asbestosis, with the October 2008 VA examiner providing a medical opinion against the claim.

The Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease with angina results in workload of greater than 7 METs but not greater than 10 METs, warranting a 10 percent evaluation. The service-connected polyarthralgia is not related to his current orthopedic symptoms and does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The Veteran meets the percentage standards for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities and is unemployable.

The Board found that the cause of the Veteran's death, coronary artery disease, was not related to his active military service and denied the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 100% from October 16, 2008. For the period June 15, 2004 to October 15, 2008, his PTSD was found to be manifested by reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as nightmares, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and depressed mood and affect.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD contributed to his cause of death, which was cardiopulmonary arrest due to or a consequence of stress caused from PTSD. The evidence is in equipoise, raising doubt in favor of the Veteran's condition being related to service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's cause of death was not due to a service-connected disability, and there is no evidence linking his terminal conditions to herbicide exposure or any other incident of his service.

The Veteran's service-connected hypertension is shown to require continuous medication for control of his hypertension symptoms and is productive of diastolic pressure readings of predominantly 100 or more, or systolic pressure readings of predominantly 160 or more. The Board finds that the Veteran is entitled to a separate rating of 10 percent for hypertension.