Ischemic heart disease decisions — 2024

The Board has granted service connection for Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected Asthma, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has granted service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease (coronary artery disease) due to exposure to toxic substances at Ellsworth Air Force Base during active duty.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart condition (cardiomyopathy) is related to service, specifically his exposure at Camp Lejeune. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's gastric ulcer with erosive gastroduodenitis is granted an initial 20 percent rating.,Other service connection claims are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions as the November 2020 AOJ letter was not an appealable decision.

The Board has found errors in obtaining all relevant treatment records, particularly those related to the Veteran's dementia and skin cancer. The case is being remanded for the AOJ to obtain these records and associate them with the claims file.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for heart disease, hearing loss, and tinnitus are being remanded due to his failure to report for VA examinations. The Board is instructing the AOJ to provide the Veteran with new VA examinations at his current address in Seattle, Washington.

The Veteran's hypertensive heart disease with atrial dilation and cardiomegaly is granted a disability evaluation of 30 percent, effective February 8, 2022.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination and failure to verify the Veteran's exposure to environmental hazards during service. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his heart disability, which he claims is related to exposure to solvents used in field training exercises.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, diabetes, heart disability, and peripheral neuropathies, have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since July 27, 2007. The Board has granted the TDIU claim effective from that date.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disorder, finding that it did not have its onset in service and was not etiologically related to his service. The Board also found that the heart disorder was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has granted an effective date of December 1, 2011 for the award of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. This decision is based on the fact that the claim for service connection for hypertension was pending and inextricably intertwined with the issue of service connection for the cause of death.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his exposure to jet fuel exhaust and herbicide agents during service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and increased ratings due to a lack of verification of exposure to herbicides/Agent Orange, as well as incomplete verification of in-service stressors. The Veteran's mental health disorder claim is also remanded.

The Veteran's death was attributed to acute hypoxic respiratory failure, septic shock, COVID-19 pneumonia, and cerebrovascular accident. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's coronary artery disease did not cause or contribute to his death. However, due to incomplete records, a new VA opinion is needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's diagnosed CAD and his death.

The Veteran's service connection claim for COPD is denied. The Board finds that there is no medical or scientific evidence to support a relationship between the development of COPD and exposure to herbicides and/or asbestos.,The appeals for increased disability evaluations for coronary artery disease post CABG, scar, post CABG, and bilateral hearing loss are dismissed because they result from a prohibited concurrent election under the modernized review system. The Veteran's claims for sleep apnea are remanded.

The Board has denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for a 100% rating for coronary artery disease, finding that the earliest date at which he met the schedular criteria was June 24, 2022.

The Veteran's heart disability was granted a 60% rating prior to July 8, 2020, and a 100% rating from that date forward.

The Veteran's heart disability is granted as secondary to service-connected obstructive sleep apnea.,Service connection for prostate cancer is denied.

The Board granted service connection for hypertension and a heart condition, to include mitral valve prolapse, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.