Ischemic heart disease Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease cannot be granted as there is no evidence of a chronic disability during or within one year after service, and no exposure to Agent Orange. The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and for an effective date earlier than April 26, 1999 for service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD).

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for PTSD and ischemic heart disease has been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal regarding the initial disability rating for ischemic heart disease prior to December 10, 2007, and since October 27, 2010.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including bipolar disorder; a heart disorder; and a right lower extremity disorder. The low back disorder was granted as service connected on a direct basis.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inextricably intertwined claim for service connection for the cause of death, and the burial benefits claim will be reconsidered after this issue is decided.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that he is entitled to a TDIU.

The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease was granted, with a 100% evaluation effective from April 30, 2010. The condition did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to that date.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and for obtaining outstanding medical records. The case will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and material evidence. However, the claim remains denied as there is no competent or probative evidence establishing a link between any current disability and the Veteran's active duty service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal of all claims before the Board.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and issuing a statement of the case for his service connection claim. His increased rating claim will also be readjudicated.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current heart disabilities are not related to his service, as they were diagnosed many years after discharge and do not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability and heart disability are related to her active duty service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for hypertensive heart disease prior to January 26, 2011 or from that date onwards. For his knees, the evidence supported only a 10 percent rating since November 30, 2012.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, abdominal wound residuals, CAD, and diabetes mellitus, type II, render him unable to obtain or retain substantially gainful employment.

The Board found that the Veteran's current heart disorder is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to his active military service and therefore denied service connection for a heart disorder.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertensive heart disease (claimed as coronary artery disease) is being remanded due to the need for an addendum VA opinion regarding whether arteriosclerotic vascular disease can be considered a form of ischemic heart disease and if it had its onset during his period of honorable active duty service.

The Veteran's acyanotic congenital heart disease with atrial septal defect is determined to be a congenital defect and not service-connected as there was no evidence of additional disability due to disease or injury during military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected hypertension and ischemic heart disease did not cause or contribute substantially to his death. The underlying causes of death were advanced respiratory failure, malnutrition, cachexia, COPD, and pneumonia.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal on the issues of entitlement to an increased rating for hypertension with renal insufficiency, bilateral hearing loss, and diabetes mellitus type II.