Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service personnel records and outstanding VA treatment records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease, linked to herbicide exposure in Korea, will be reconsidered after obtaining these records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart disorder and hypertension are not related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not a Nehmer class member and therefore, his claim for service connection for a heart disability cannot be readjudicated based on the presumption of herbicide exposure. The issue of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen his diabetes mellitus claim remains before the Board.

The Board found that the Veteran's cardiovascular disease, hypertension, right shoulder arthritis and back disorder are not related to his military service. The heart murmur in 1942 was considered a benign finding without evidence of subsequent treatment or diagnosis.

The Veteran's cause of death, arteriosclerotic hypertensive heart disease, is service-connected due to exposure to herbicides during his military service in the Republic of Vietnam.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed back injury, bilateral knee disability, heart disease, hypertension, and thyroid disease as they were not shown to have had their onset in service or be otherwise related to service.,Service connection was not granted for any of the conditions due to a lack of evidence showing an in-service event, injury, or illness that led to these disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease including coronary artery disease, both claimed as secondary to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's contentions of exposure were not supported by the evidence.

The Veteran's initial ratings for hypertension and coronary artery disease have been granted, with a 100% rating assigned to the coronary artery disease. The hypertension issue has been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The issues are whether he can establish service connection for ischemic heart disease and hypertension, with the latter condition potentially secondary to his PTSD.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cardiovascular disease, including ischemic heart disease due to herbicide exposure, as there was no evidence that he served in Vietnam or had presumptive exposure to Agent Orange. The Veteran did not have a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease during service and none within one year of discharge.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for rheumatic heart disease and granted it on de novo review, finding that new evidence received since the May 1959 rating decision raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. The Board also found that the Veteran's rheumatic heart disease was manifest to a compensable degree within one year following his discharge from active duty, allowing for presumptive service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess his PTSD. The claim of entitlement to TDIU will also be adjudicated.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to May 1, 2008.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as his claimed conditions did not manifest during or within one year after service, and are not etiologically related to active service.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, and arteriosclerotic heart disease were denied as there was no evidence to support these conditions being related to his military service.

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

The Board has determined that the veteran's cause of death was primarily due to ischemic heart disease, which is presumed to have been incurred in service as a consequence of his time as a POW. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart disease did not incur or aggravate during his active duty service, ACDUTRA, INACDUTRA, or any other period of service. Therefore, service connection for heart disease is denied.

The VA determined that a current chest or heart disorder is not causally related to service, and thus denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, finding that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability.