Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lung, heart, and prostate conditions due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their relationship to military service exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate opinions regarding whether the Veteran's coronary artery disease (CAD) resulted from or was aggravated by his service-connected intermittent explosive disorder and/or events in active service. The case is now pending for further review.

The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for a heart disability, as there is no clear and unmistakable evidence that it was pre-existing and not aggravated by service. The Veteran's heart disability was diagnosed nearly 30 years after service, and the examiner concluded that it was congenital and not caused by gravitational force from flying high-performance jets.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of VA examinations and missing scheduled appointments. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine if his claimed disabilities are related to his active-duty service.

The Board denied service connection for a cardiovascular condition to include CAD, IHD, and MI residuals due to lack of evidence showing the conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service. Service connection was granted for bilateral foot disability, other than plantar fibromas and pes planus, to include diagnosed bilateral plantar fasciitis as secondary to service-connected pes planus.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased evaluations have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his appeal.,The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection, effective dates, and evaluations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, a heart disability (enlarged heart), and CVA residuals due to hypertension. The Board found that there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service occurrence of these conditions.,The Board also noted that the Veteran had been diagnosed with hypertension after leaving military service, which is not considered service-connected.

The Veteran's hypertension, abnormal mitral valve, arteriosclerotic heart disease, and arrhythmia were granted service connection as direct service connection. The effective date is not specified.

The Board has vacated the December 2022 decision and granted an effective date of August 31, 2010 for the award of service connection for coronary artery disease.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is denied. The appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection for coronary artery disease is dismissed.

The Veteran's service connection claim for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and atrial fibrillation is remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Board will investigate whether the USS Lexington was present in American Samoa or Guam's territorial waters during his service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of tuberculous (TB) meningitis, as well as its secondary effects on a heart condition, balance condition, and tinnitus. The Veteran's work in an infectious hospital unit during active duty is considered relevant to his claim.

The Veteran's IHD is rated at a 60 percent rating, but no higher, due to heart failure symptoms manifesting between 3.1 and 5.0 METs.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for heart disability, hypertension, lymph node disability, and bilateral hand numbness disabilities are remanded due to the need for VA examinations.

The Veteran's combined service-connected rating is at least 40 percent, effective March 29, 2016. The Board finds that the Veteran meets the schedular criteria for consideration of TDIU and has been found to be unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities since March 5, 2018.

The Veteran's heart disorder, skin disorder, and gastrointestinal disorder were not found to be related to his active duty service.,There was no evidence of herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service on the USS Oriskany.,VA treatment records did not indicate any pre-service or in-service conditions that could have led to these current disabilities.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for heart condition, low back condition, and bilateral hearing loss due to procedural errors in previous decisions.

The Veteran's heart disorder, including myocardial infarction and atrial fibrillation, is rated at 100% effective from May 7, 2021.,Service connection for hearing loss was denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound status is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the impact of his service-connected coronary artery disease and PTSD on his employability.

The Veteran's service connection claims for migraine headaches, CAD, GERD, and hypertension are remanded due to the need for additional development under the PACT Act.