Ischemic heart disease Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) and remanded the issues of increased ratings for right shoulder derangement, left knee arthritis, and right knee arthritis. The issue of whether a notice of disagreement to the denial of service connection for hypertension was timely is also being remanded.

The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease is granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.

The Veteran's 60 percent disability rating for service-connected coronary artery disease is restored, effective June 1, 2006. The claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to April 23, 2008 is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide exposure. The Veteran's hypertension is also being reviewed in light of potential direct service connection.

The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date of August 8, 2002 for the award of service connection for ischemic heart disease associated with herbicide exposure is granted. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD, depression, alcoholism).

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including CAD, ulcerated colitis, bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, CFS, diverticulitis, residuals of TBI, seizures and/or epilepsy, and PTSD are granted. The decision also includes remand items for further review.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for ischemic heart disease and a heart condition, finding that there was no evidence of such conditions during service or related to active duty.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to exposure to environmental toxins, including herbicide agents, at Fort McClellan.

The Board has remanded the cases for further evaluation due to a lack of an opinion on whether any diagnosed conditions are aggravated by service-connected varicose veins.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease and hypertension, both of which are secondary to his service-connected thyroid condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease was granted with an effective date of June 13, 2016. The Board denied a request for an earlier effective date.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for coronary artery disease status-post stent placement was denied. The Board found that the assigned rating of 60% is adequate and did not meet the criteria for extraschedular consideration.

The Veteran's heart disability, hypertension, and respiratory disorder were not found to be related to service or herbicide exposure.,Service connection for a heart disability was denied as there is no current evidence of the condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient service records and will request them from specific units. The Veteran's claim for ischemic heart disease, potentially related to in-service herbicide exposure, is now on hold until these records are obtained.

The Veteran's cause of death, coronary artery disease (CAD), is service-connected. However, the appellant does not qualify for non-service-connected death pension benefits due to her income exceeding the maximum allowable amount.

The Board has granted the appellant's petition to reopen her claim for service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death and determined that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his active service at Takhli RTAFB in Thailand. As a result, ischemic heart disease is presumed to have been incurred due to exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's cause of death is denied as there is no evidence linking his Parkinson's disease, stroke, and coronary artery disease to service or exposure to herbicide agents.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including ischemic heart disease and PTSD, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The TDIU claim is granted. For the initial rating of ischemic heart disease, a remand is required as the Veteran testified that his condition has worsened since the last VA examination in January 2017.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus the claim for TDIU is granted.

The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran was not rated totally disabled at the time of his death.