Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2018

The Board has granted service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that they are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back disability.

The Veteran's fatigue, heart disease (MI), arthritis/DISH, BCC, Peyronie's disease, and GERD were not shown to be related to service or undiagnosed illness.,All conditions are presumed not to have been incurred in service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD) and to determine if his reported symptoms are related to CAD or another condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart disability, including atrial flutter, was not incurred in or caused by active service. The cerebrovascular accident with right-sided residual neurological symptoms is also not considered to be secondary to a service-connected disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease, finding no evidence of a current disability and concluding that any chest pain reported by the Veteran was not related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected ischemic heart disease warrants a 100 percent rating during the entire appeal period, as his workload of 3 METs or less resulted in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, and syncope, and he has experienced severe left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease, status post myocardial infarction, did not meet the criteria for a higher than 60 percent rating prior to March 24, 2014. The VA examinations conducted during this appeal were adequate for rating purposes.

The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease (CAD) is granted due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during his military service.

The Veteran's cause of death is found to be due to ischemic heart disease, which he would have been entitled to presumptive service connection for as a result of his exposure to herbicides during service. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the ischemic heart disease contributed substantially and materially to his death.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, coronary artery disease, and migraine headaches. Service connection was also granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder (likely due to a TBI), weight gain disorder, and memory loss disorder as secondary to service-connected disorders.

The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), finding that the earliest date entitlement could have arisen was in November 1991, and not within one year prior to December 26, 2012. The Board concluded that an effective date earlier than December 26, 2012 is not warranted.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to inadequate examination reports and opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus, type II, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions. The Board also found that there was no credible evidence of herbicide exposure during service.

The Veteran's claim for a TDIU prior to May 8, 2008 was denied as the evidence did not establish that he was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease, neck disability (musculoskeletal), and skin lesions on neck are all denied as there is insufficient credible evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of medical evidence linking the Veteran's heart disease and diabetes to her active duty service. The Veteran will be scheduled for VA examinations to explore the etiology of these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for a heart disability, finding that the evidence submitted since the final June 2009 rating decision is cumulative or redundant as to the evidence already of record.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a heart condition due to new and material evidence. The Veteran's current diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is presumed to be related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure, thus meeting the criteria for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's ischemic heart disease is due to exposure in service to herbicides, to include Agent Orange. As such, the criteria for service connection have been met.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for residuals of prostate cancer and coronary artery disease was denied. The Veteran is currently rated at 60% for his coronary artery disease, effective April 1, 2015.