The Board found that the veteran's valvular heart disease was not incurred due to active service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred therein. The preponderance of evidence is against a causal relationship between his heart disease and any incident of service, including an episode of scarlet fever.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the veteran did not have rheumatic fever during active duty when he was diagnosed with scarlet fever, and that his current valvular heart disease was not related to his in-service scarlet fever. The alternative etiological cause identified by the VA physician is primary mitral valve prolapse due to myxomatous proliferation.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2002
- Citation
- 0218790
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 0218790.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a 100 percent rating for valvular heart disease based on MET testing showing that at a workload of 3 METs or less, the condition results in fatigue and breathlessness.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The claim for service connection for valvular heart disease is dismissed as the Veteran was granted a full grant of benefits for coronary artery disease, which is considered a full grant of the benefits sought on appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia, chronic paronychia, psoriasis and rosacea (claimed as skin condition), pulmonary nodules, and valvular heart disease.
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