The veteran's death was not service-connected as the cause of his death, myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease, is not shown to have been present until many years after his separation from service.
The deciding factor: The VA physician found it not possible to relate the veteran's cardiovascular disease and eventual demise to service or within one year of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- Myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2003
- Citation
- 0310004
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 0310004.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease, which is presumed related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a lack of sufficient evidence addressing all contentions.
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