The veteran died from cardiac failure with a cerebrovascular accident as an antecedent cause. The Board found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service and denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: No competent medical evidence related the veteran's death or underlying conditions to his period of recognized service.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac failure, cerebrovascular accident
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2002
- Citation
- 0217709
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 0217709.
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: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, and coronary artery disease are found to be causally linked to his ME/CFS. Service connection for ME/CFS is granted.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special home adaptation as defined by VA regulations.
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