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Whole decision: Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no evidence showing a direct relationship between his service-connected varicose veins and the underlying causes of death.

The deciding factor: The Board found that while the veteran had a history of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease prior to his death, these conditions were not shown to be related to his service-connected varicose veins or incurred during service. The cause of death was determined to be acute coronary insufficiency, which was not linked to any service-connected condition.

Claimed conditions
Acute coronary insufficiency, Diabetes mellitus, Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Hypertension, Obesity
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
May 25, 2001
Citation
0114709

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 0114709.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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