Ischemic heart disease Board decisions

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at a 70 percent rating effective October 10, 2018. Effective December 27, 2010, the Veteran also receives SMC at the housebound rate due to his service-connected coronary artery disease.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities were sufficient to produce unemployability for the period from October 2, 2015, through March 14, 2018.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease is being remanded due to the failure to schedule a DRO conference.

The Board has dismissed all service connection claims due to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's initial increased disability rating for coronary artery disease (CAD) with myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention prior to January 25, 2019, was granted at a 100 percent disability rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation, as well as his claim for a TDIU prior to January 8, 2018. The VA will need to schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected cardiac disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service in Thailand, where he was stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base and had duties near its perimeter, exposed him to herbicides. Given his current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, the Board finds it is at least as likely as not that this exposure contributed to his condition, thus granting service connection for ischemic heart disease.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for ischemic heart disease and TDIU due to insufficient evidence regarding his convalescence period from surgery and lack of information on his employment history.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) and supraventricular arrhythmia, both granted in January 2017. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine when these conditions manifested.,An earlier effective date is also sought for the Veteran's service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia. However, a Statement of the Case (SOC) was not issued addressing this issue.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has denied service connection for TCE blood contamination and remanded the claims of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for liver disability, as well as service connection for a liver disability and heart disability due to exposure at Camp Lejeune.

The Veteran's initial rating for PTSD prior to December 2, 2014 was denied. The Veteran's PTSD on and after December 2, 2014 is rated at 50 percent. Service connection for CAD and TDIU are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is denied, and the heart condition issue is remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to July 24, 2012 for the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease is denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not file a claim for ischemic heart disease (a covered herbicide disease) before May 3, 1989 or between May 3, 1989 and August 31, 2010.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for ischemic heart disease, to include coronary artery disease, is remanded due to insufficient evidence. The case will be reviewed again with a focus on whether the condition was incurred or aggravated during active duty or reserve service.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating of 50 percent or higher for PTSD has been granted, effective from the date of this decision. The Veteran is currently rated at 30 percent for his service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for eligibility for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant, as he does not have permanent and total disability due to anatomical loss of use of both hands, burn injuries, blindness in both eyes with limited visual acuity, or inhalational injury.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for heart disease, including residuals of a coronary artery bypass graft, finding that there was no direct evidence linking the condition to his military service and concluding that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and secondary service connection for a heart condition as related to sleep apnea. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to service.