The Board denied service connection for arthritis and heart disease as residuals of rheumatic fever, finding no evidence linking these conditions to active duty or the onset within one year after discharge.
The deciding factor: No new evidence was provided that would reopen the claim for service connection. The veteran's arthritis and heart disease were not shown in service or within a year thereafter, and there is no presumption of service connection due to rheumatic fever.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis, Heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2002
- Citation
- 0201910
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 0201910.
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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- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
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- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for Parkinson's disease, bladder cancer, and heart disease due to a duty to assist error in failing to consider potential toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) based on the Veteran's military occupational specialty (MOS).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been reduced from 40% and 10%, respectively, to 20% and 0%. The reduction was based on improvements shown in recent VA examinations.
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