The Board denied the appellant's request for an effective date prior to January 26, 1997 for DIC benefits due to the liberalizing amendment to the POW regulation that granted service connection for the cause of death based on episodes of localized edema during captivity and subsequent ischemic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant's claim was not well-grounded as her initial claim had been denied in November 1982, which became final. The effective date could only be set to January 26, 1997 based on the liberalizing amendment retroactive from August 24, 1993.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2001
- Citation
- 0122285
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 0122285.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of ischemic heart disease and diabetes, and these claims are dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension from August 10, 2022, under the PACT Act. The claim for a thyroid disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to request a medical opinion on whether service-connected hypertension or ischemic heart disease was a principal or contributory cause of the Veteran's death.
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