Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2015

The Board has ordered a new medical opinion to determine if any service-connected conditions contributed to the Veteran's death, and whether they were principal or contributory causes of his death.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to address the relationship between his heart disease and ventricular tachycardia, as well as chronic kidney disease, with service and/or service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed heart disability, stroke residuals, gallbladder removal residuals, and right lower leg amputation as secondary to DM. The claims were based on exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during active duty.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including gallbladder removal and spleen removal, were denied as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active military service. The Board found that the preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding in favor of service connection.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for coronary artery disease, status post coronary artery bypass graft is being remanded due to the need for a new examination and additional development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease, as ischemic heart disease was granted effective September 6, 2007. The effective date cannot be earlier due to the liberalizing regulation adding ischemic heart disease as a presumptive condition related to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's initial rating for CAD was increased to 60 percent effective May 23, 2013. The TDIU claim is remanded as the Veteran has not been provided with a new VA examination or application form.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have hypertension or coronary artery disease with left ventricular hypertrophy that is attributable to his military service.

The Veteran's service connection claim for a respiratory condition as due to mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is granted, while his heart condition claim remains pending.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease are presumed to be related to his service in Korea due to exposure to herbicide agents, thus the claims for these conditions have been granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination and an opinion on whether his Crohn's disease is related to service or exposure to herbicides. The issues of secondary service connection for valvular heart disease with atrial flutter will also be addressed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions are not related to service and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and erectile dysfunction, render him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board grants a TDIU based on these conditions.

The appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant through his/her authorized representative.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for cardiomyopathy is granted. The claim for a higher rating for PTSD and the TDIU based on PTSD in combination with other service-connected disabilities are both granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure, is being remanded due to the need for additional development including obtaining SSA records and verifying herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's ischemic heart disease arose no later than June 1, 1987. The effective date for the grant of service connection is set at February 12, 1992.

The Veteran is seeking a waiver of recovery for an overpayment of VA nonservice-connected pension benefits. The Board has determined that further development and reconsideration are needed to determine if the debt was properly created due to administrative error.

The Veteran does not have hypertension or a heart disorder other than rheumatic valvular heart disease that is related to military service.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for post-operative scarring, status-post coronary artery bypass graft was denied. The issue of entitlement to an effective date earlier than May 10, 2003, for the grant of SMC at the housebound rate was also denied.