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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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