Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2023

The Board has dismissed the appeal for entitlement to service connection for high blood pressure and heart disease as the appellant requested a withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's cause of death is related to his service, but needs more information about his in-service exposure to herbicides. The case is being sent back for further investigation.

The Veteran's coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction are denied as not related to service, including active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the current conditions and any in-service injury or event.

The Veteran requested to withdraw all issues on appeal, and the Board dismissed them due to this request.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cardiovascular disability, including as manifested by an abnormal EKG, mild myocardial infarction, and/or coronary artery disease. The Board found that there was no evidence of a heart disability within one year of separation from active duty, and that the most probative opinions were against a finding of any relationship between the Veteran's current heart disability and his service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and heart condition were denied as there was no current disability found to be related to service.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, cardiovascular disability, renal disorder, colon cancer, and a disorder resulting from a strain of the herpes virus. The AOJ is directed to obtain additional medical records and provide new VA medical opinions as requested.

The Board denied service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease as the Veteran was not exposed to herbicide agents during his active duty at Fort McClellan.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II and ischemic heart disease (IHD) are granted as presumptively related to his exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. Hypertension is also granted under the PACT Act for presumed exposure to herbicides.,Additional medical records from private providers such as Dr. Reed Ward, Dr. Allen J. Salem, and St. Luke's need to be obtained to fully assess these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for colon cancer and heart disability (CAD) due to in-service exposure to toxic materials, including PCBs and DDE. The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for prostate, hypothyroidism, gastrointestinal disability, and gastroesophageal reflux disease due to lack of evidence regarding their etiology.

The Veteran's PTSD is granted a rating of 70 percent, but not higher. The case for increased ratings for ischemic heart disease prior to August 21, 2017 and TDIU is remanded.

The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding the Veteran's METs level and the severity of his congestive heart failure, as these factors could impact the rating assigned for his service-connected coronary artery disease. The issues of TDIU are also inextricably intertwined with the rating issue.

The Board has dismissed the appeal because the Veteran died before a decision could be made, and no service connection is granted.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset and relationship of diabetes to active service, as well as secondary service connection for heart condition, intestinal condition, bilateral upper extremity neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity neuropathy based on diabetes.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are sufficient to meet the threshold requirement for entitlement to a program of vocational rehabilitation. However, he did not meet the second requirement as his service-connected and nonservice-connected disabilities have been overcome by his extensive education, practical work experience, and transferrable skills.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death, and the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for hypertension and has remanded the issue of service connection for a heart disability as secondary to his service-connected hypertension.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for a disability rating in excess of 60 percent for coronary artery disease (CAD) with CABG, status post MI and an earlier effective date than July 1, 2014 for the same condition. The Board dismissed these claims as per the Veteran's request.

The Veteran's claims for diabetes mellitus, type II; coronary artery disease; hypertension; left eye ischemic optic neuropathy; and nuclear sclerosis of bilateral eyes have been reopened due to new and material evidence. Service connection is granted for all conditions.