Ischemic heart disease Board decisions

The Board denied service connection for heart disease as secondary to ulcerative colitis and granted a 10% evaluation for osteoporosis of the right knee. The Board also granted a 20% evaluation for healed sacroiliitis effective from March 24, 1994.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for hypertension and heart disease, finding no evidence of such conditions during service or a link to service.

The Board has granted a 30% rating for rheumatic heart disease effective January 12, 1998. Prior to that date, the condition was rated as 10%. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's rheumatic heart disease was incurred during service and is not due to a pre-existing condition. The claim for service connection is therefore granted.

The veteran's claim for special monthly pension based on the need for regular aid and attendance or by reason of being housebound is denied as he does not meet the criteria for either benefit.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disability, increased ratings for PTSD and cervical spine degenerative joint disease. The veteran's PTSD was found to be well grounded but not warranting an increase in rating prior to October 30, 1998, while his cervical spine condition did not meet criteria for a higher rating before April 24, 1998.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a heart disability and heroin addiction due to lack of evidence supporting these claims.

The Board found no current disability for which service connection may be granted, as the heart murmur in service has not been shown to be any more than a defect and does not rise to the level of a disability. The veteran's claim is therefore denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of a nexus between any diagnosed conditions and his active service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired eye disorder, a shrapnel wound of the left foot, and ischemic heart disease. The evidence submitted since 1991 did not provide new and material evidence to support these claims.

The Board found that there is no competent evidence linking the veteran's current hypertension and ischemic heart disease to service, and thus denied the claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for heart disability, gastrointestinal disability, and generalized joint pain. The heart disorder was attributed to his anxiety disorder. The gastrointestinal disability claim was not supported by objective indications of a chronic disability. Generalized joint pain (except for knee strain) was also not shown to be related to service.

The Board found that the cause of death was not service-connected and thus denied DIC benefits.

The appellant is not eligible for dependents educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to the absence of a permanent total service-connected disability during her father's lifetime and his death was not due to a service-connected disability.

The Board granted a 60 percent rating for hypertensive heart disease with chronic renal insufficiency, effective from August 14, 1995. The claim for service connection for residuals of trauma to the right tibia was reopened due to new and material evidence.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened and granted. His residuals of shell fragment wounds of the left forearm and right buttock were also granted increased evaluations, with a non-compensable evaluation for the left forearm and a compensable evaluation (10%) for the right buttock. Service connection for a heart disorder was well grounded.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disorder and a psychiatric disorder. The previous decisions denying these claims are not reopened.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and finds it well-grounded. The new evidence, including medical articles linking NSAIDs to gastrointestinal and liver disease, supports a plausible link between the veteran's service-connected ankylosing spondylitis and his death.

The veteran was entitled to reimbursement for unauthorized private inpatient care due to a medical emergency and the lack of feasible VA availability.

The Board has determined that the claim is well grounded and grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.