The Board finds that the veteran's death was due to atherosclerotic heart disease, which is presumed to be linked to his service as a prisoner of war. The appellant's claim for accrued benefits is also granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted based on the presumption under VA regulations for diseases associated with POW status and localized edema during captivity.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD), localized edema
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0412146
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0412146.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased ratings were dismissed as untimely. The Board found that the Veteran did not provide a timely appeal request, despite having received notification of the rating decisions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his atherosclerotic heart disease and other conditions were not related to his military service or any service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination regarding hypertension and its relation to service, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents. A new VA examination is needed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) due to exposure to herbicide agents and stroke residuals, secondary to now service connected ASHD on a causation basis. The decision is based on the presumption of exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand.
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