Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2009

The Board denied service connection for an immune condition and a heart condition, as well as entitlement to DIC benefits and DEA benefits.

The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) and bilateral hearing loss as they were not related to the veteran's active military service or secondary to his service-connected disabilities.

The appeal was remanded to obtain additional medical records from the Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbosacral sprain, claimed as a back disorder, and a heart disorder due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the veteran's active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and heart disease as new and material evidence was not received to reopen these previously disallowed claims.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for a VA examination to determine if the veteran's heart conditions are proximately due to, the result of, or chronically aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.

The Board granted service connection for multiple sclerosis on a presumptive basis, but denied service connection for CAD, diabetic retinopathy, and lower extremity edema with peripheral neuropathy.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating to 70 percent for PTSD was granted, while the claims for service connection and reopening of hypertension, heart condition, and bilateral hearing loss were denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, residuals of a shrapnel wound of the left upper back, a left arm disability, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with asthma, bilateral hearing loss, and heart disease were denied.

The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claims for service connection for arthritis of the bilateral hands and feet, but denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for hypertension.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disorder and a psychiatric disorder were reopened, but the claim for PTSD was denied.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of a TDIU was denied because the medical records indicating unemployability received in August 2000 and February 2001 do not constitute claims for a TDIU, and the requisite schedular criteria were not established prior to December 23, 2003.

The Board remands the matter for additional development, including obtaining outstanding medical records and scheduling a new VA examination.

The veteran's death was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest due to ventricular fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and coronary artery disease. The service-connected narcolepsy contributed substantially and materially to his death.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date prior to October 17, 2003 for the grant of service connection for residuals right wrist injury was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for an unspecified heart disorder as new and material evidence was not received to reopen the previously denied claim.

The Board remands the claim for a VA examination to determine if the veteran's coronary artery disease post myocardial infarction was aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.

The appellant's erectile dysfunction disability does not warrant a compensable rating. The hypertensive heart disease was rated at 60 percent effective prior to May 19, 2008, but no higher evaluation is warranted thereafter. The hypertension disability did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.

The veteran's hypertension does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation, and he is capable of engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for a right eye disorder, back disability, heart disorder, right knee disability, and psychiatric disorder as these conditions were not caused or aggravated by the veteran's active military service.