The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability and denied his claim for nonservice-connected death pension benefits due to lack of qualifying service.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the veteran’s cause of death (cardiopulmonary arrest, ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis) to his military service or any in-service incident.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis, chronic renal failure, thrombocytopenia, pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 9, 2002
- Citation
- 0211601
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 0211601.
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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a heart disability prior to his death is granted as he was entitled to accrued benefits due to the September 1994 claim, which included ischemic heart disease, a covered herbicide disease.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
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