Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2014

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to concerns about inadequate medical opinion evidence and potential applicability of a specific regulation.

The Veteran is unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment as a result of his service-connected disabilities, specifically rheumatic arthritis, rheumatic heart disease, and rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatosis.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral shin splints, a disorder causing malaise, and a compensable rating for septoplasty with residual nasal congestion have been withdrawn. The Board has granted service connection for hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

The Veteran's current diagnoses of ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus, type II are presumed due to his in-service herbicide exposure.,Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as these conditions were first manifested during active service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his prostate cancer. The claims for hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and initial ratings for diabetes mellitus type II, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, and residuals of prostate cancer are also being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations and records, as well as further consideration of his TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a supplemental opinion from an examiner regarding the impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his employability. The appeal is currently in remand status.

The Board has remanded the case for a supplemental VA medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's heart disorders are caused or aggravated by his service-connected AAA disability. The claim is currently pending and will be reviewed again after this additional development.

The Veteran's claims for ischemic heart disease and peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity were denied as there is no current diagnosis for these conditions.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a VA examination to assess his employability given his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Travel Board hearing. Service connection will be reconsidered after the hearing.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's coronary artery disease, which is a listed disease associated with exposure to herbicide agents, contributed substantially or materially to his death. As such, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, and lung cancer are denied as there is no evidence of in-service exposure to herbicides or other causative factors.

The Veteran's service treatment records do not show a diagnosis of or history of heart attack during service. The Board finds no evidence that the Veteran sustained a heart attack in service, and there is no medical evidence linking current heart disability to service.,There is no medical evidence showing that the Veteran had a migraine headache disorder during service or for many years thereafter.

The Board found no evidence of service-connected dental, tinnitus, pulmonary, back, stomach, heart, psychiatric, or throat disorders. The Veteran's current conditions are not shown to be related to his military service.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease has been characterized by some fatigue during exertion, but a workload capacity of greater than 5, but less than 7, metabolic equivalents with symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope, or evidence of cardiac hypertrophy or dilation on echocardiogram, electrocardiogram or X-ray has not been shown. Therefore, an initial rating in excess of 10 percent is not warranted.

The Board has remanded the case due to a scheduled hearing, and further development is needed before a decision can be made on the service connection claims.

The Board found no evidence of current residuals resulting from in-service dental trauma and denied service connection for coronary artery disease as there was no showing of onset during service.

The Board has determined that the reduction in rating for coronary artery disease from 100 percent to 60 percent was improper and void ab initio.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disability due to outstanding VA treatment records and further development.