The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death and eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a conclusion that the veteran's post-service cardiovascular condition was in any manner related to service or developed within an applicable presumptive period following service, nor were his service-connected disabilities considered either principal or contributory causes of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiomyopathy, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2002
- Citation
- 0217817
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 0217817.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ischemic heart disease, as the previous opinions were found inadequate.
- Partly granted
The appeal was granted for the severance of service connection for hypertension and entitlement to service connection for a heart disability (claimed as cardiomyopathy) associated with hypertension. The claim for an initial compensable rating for hypertension was remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
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