Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2022

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent since August 28, 2008. The Board finds that the Veteran's PTSD causes occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability but not total social or occupational impairment. Service connection for a heart disorder and residual deficits status post stroke are remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for an enlarged prostate and heart disease due to exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran's enlarged prostate is not related to his service or a service-connected disability, while the heart disease claim requires further development.

The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease is granted due to the presumption of herbicide exposure near the DMZ during his active duty.

The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, heart disabilities, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis due to potential service connection issues.,Additional development is needed including obtaining medical opinions on the etiology of these conditions.

The claims for service connection and compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 have been remanded due to the submission of new evidence that relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claims.

The Veteran's service connection claims for ischemic heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction due to herbicide exposure are granted. The Board found that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his service in Thailand and established presumptive service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not meet the schedular criteria for a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to January 13, 2020. The appeal is denied.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded for referral to the Director, Compensation Service, due to reasonable possibility of unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to August 30, 2018.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to January 18, 2017.

The Veteran's attorney withdrew the appeals for prostate cancer and coronary artery disease, leading to their dismissal.

The Board has denied service connection for colorectal cancer, heart condition (including ischemic heart disease), and warts on the penis. The case is being remanded to obtain a VA medical opinion regarding prostate conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to conflicting medical evidence and the need for additional opinions. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, coronary artery disease, hypertension, left hand swelling, right hand swelling, and scars are all under review.

The Veteran's heart disability, specifically coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction, was found not to meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to January 7, 2021, and from that date onwards. The Board denied an initial rating greater than 30 percent prior to January 7, 2021, and more than 60 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's heart disability is presumed to be related to his service due to herbicide exposure near the Korat RTAFB perimeter, and he was granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on all issues except facial scars have been dismissed due to withdrawal. The appeal for reopening/reconsideration of facial scars is pending.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of a heart disorder related to service, and thus the claim for service connection for a heart disorder is denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for ischemic heart disease and type II diabetes mellitus due to insufficient verification of claimed in-service exposure. The claims must be re-evaluated with new evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disability to include coronary artery disease and skin cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hip disability and a heart disability, finding that the conditions did not originate in or are otherwise etiologically related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and development of records. The heart disability claim is related to presumed exposure to herbicide agents, while the respiratory disability claim may be related to such exposure as well.