Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2022

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed. The remaining issues have been remanded.

The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for heart disease is remanded due to the need for a new VA opinion considering additional evidence and medical literature.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examiner's opinions regarding his hearing loss, tinnitus, heart condition, and high blood pressure. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, and a compensable disability evaluation for his service-connected surgical scar. The effective dates for TDIU and the award of 60% disability rating for coronary artery disease have been granted.

The Board denied increased disability ratings for various conditions, including CAD, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. The Veteran's appeal was dismissed for an earlier effective date for service connection of unspecified depressive disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea, heart disability (other than coronary artery disease), and psychiatric disability due to inadequate medical opinions and need for additional evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to radiation and water contamination during service, as well as his treatment for viruses and bacterial infections. The appellant must provide additional information or evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disability, finding it presumed to be associated with herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a medical opinion regarding his heart disease, as there is insufficient evidence to determine if he was exposed to herbicide agents or set foot on land in Vietnam. The claims of exposure and service connection are being returned to VA for further review.

The Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease was granted a 60% rating from October 5, 2015 to February 19, 2019.

The Board has remanded the claims for gastritis, hypertension, hypertensive cardiovascular heart disease, and bilateral knee disabilities due to conflicting medical opinions and lack of evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and ischemic heart disease, precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation beginning September 23, 2010. The Board granted an effective date of September 23, 2010 for TDIU and DEA benefits.

The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease and residuals of a myocardial infarction, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and chronic gastritis, as well as secondary service connection for a stroke disability. These conditions are found to be aggravated by the Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) in the Arkansas Army National Guard from 1998 to 2016.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease was denied. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the current heart disability and his military service, including as secondary to any service-connected condition or exposure to herbicides. For TDIU from October 15, 2009, the Board noted that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease, which he contends is due to exposure to herbicide agents during his military service at Eglin Air Force Base, has been remanded due to insufficient information provided by the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) regarding his claimed herbicide agent exposure. The VA will need to take further steps to verify this exposure and provide a formal finding if necessary.

The Veteran died from a head injury in a motor vehicle accident. The cause of death is unclear, as the medical incident (confusion and slurred speech) could be related to a stroke, heart attack, or hypoglycemia. The Board finds that additional information is needed regarding the Veteran's medical condition and incident.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's heart disorder, specifically hypertensive heart disease with congestive heart failure and a heart murmur. The VA examiner is required to provide an opinion on whether any current heart disorder is related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disability and left lower extremity disability, finding that there was no evidence of direct causation in service or secondary to a pre-existing condition. The Board also found that presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure is not warranted.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The heart condition claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide exposure.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral leg cramps and osteoporosis, previously claimed as osteopenia. The claims for thyroid condition and heart condition are being remanded.,Further development is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's thyroid condition and heart condition.