The Board denied the claim, finding that coronary artery disease was not incurred in or aggravated by service and did not contribute substantially to the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a causal relationship between the veteran's PTSD and his chest pain, which was attributed to coronary artery disease. The Board found that stress alone did not cause atherosclerosis but could exacerbate existing plaque in the arteries.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, status-post coronary artery bypass graft with hypertension, diabetes mellitus with peroneal neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2001
- Citation
- 0108084
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0108084.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Dismissed
The claim for entitlement to service connection for hypotension was dismissed, and the issue of entitlement to service connection for hypertensive cardiovascular disease was remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease, which is presumed related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
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