Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the case due to issues with the appellant's character of discharge and his service connection claims. The appeal is not about service connection at all, but rather a dispute over the character of discharge.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected mood disorder substantially contributed to his death from coronary artery disease, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.

The Veteran's VA treating physician concluded that the medications used to treat his service-connected HIV likely contributed to his coronary artery disease, which was subsequently resolved by a medication switch. The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease as secondary to the treatment of his service-connected HIV.

The Veteran's tinnitus and ischemic heart disease are granted service connection. The lumbar disability, bilateral hearing loss, and psychiatric disorder claims are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than February 9, 2004 for service connection of ischemic heart disease is granted, but only to extend the effective date back to November 20, 2003.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and hand tremors. However, service connection is not granted as there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and active duty.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether there was an actual improvement in the Veteran's coronary artery disease, and if so, whether this improvement reflects a functional improvement under ordinary conditions of life and work.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to insufficient evidence from previous examinations, including a lack of METs data for his heart condition. Additional VA examinations are needed to assess current disability levels.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate explanation and need for an additional VA examination regarding the Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease after September 30, 2010.

The Veteran's claims are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding his service-connected conditions, as well as hypertension. The effective dates for service connection will be determined based on the evidence of record.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for ischemic heart disease. The Veteran's representative requested withdrawal of appeals related to his bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, PTSD, and earlier effective date for PTSD.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to new and material evidence. However, the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for respiratory and heart conditions due to insufficient rationale in the VA examination opinions.

The Veteran's appeals for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for ischemic heart disease and TDIU prior to January 2, 2015 have been dismissed.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, an unspecified heart disorder, and diabetes are remanded due to the need for additional evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to pending development of records and exposure history.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn prior to the Board making a decision.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease was granted a 30% rating for the period prior to December 28, 2017 and a 100% rating from that date forward.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease is currently rated at 30 percent from April 24, 2012. The rating was granted as his condition met the criteria for a 30 percent rating under DC 7005.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type II, and residuals of cardiac surgery with cardiac stents are all granted due to presumed exposure to herbicides during his military service.