The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking the veteran's heart conditions and diabetes to his military service.
The deciding factor: The primary and contributory causes of the veteran's death were non-service-connected cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which began years after service without any medical evidence linking them to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerotic heart disease, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2002
- Citation
- 0205078
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 0205078.
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 claim for entitlement to service connection for hypotension was dismissed, and the issue of entitlement to service connection for hypertensive cardiovascular disease was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and bilateral knee strain to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
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