The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death based on new medical evidence, including diagnoses of coronary heart disease and statements from fellow POWs who witnessed his health issues during captivity. The Board finds that ischemic heart disease is presumed to have been incurred due to the veteran's captivity as a POW while on active duty, meeting the criteria for service connection.
The deciding factor: The new medical evidence establishes that the veteran had coronary heart disease and was malnourished and vitamin deficient during his time as a prisoner of war, which materially contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease, malnutrition, avitaminosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2002
- Citation
- 0217106
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 0217106.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is related to herbicide exposure during service and contributed substantially to his cause of death.,Service connection for both hypertension and the cause of death (hypertensive cardiovascular disease) is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to VA DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a need for further evaluation regarding the relationship between any identified pulmonary/respiratory disability, including bronchial asthma, and active service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking the Veteran's carcinoma of the pharynx to his service or a service-connected disability, and there was no indication that the cancer was related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the cause of death and remanded the issue of a compensable disability rating for bilateral defective hearing.
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