The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for the cause of his death and basic eligibility for nonservice-connected death pension benefits due to lack of evidence linking any disability to military service.
The deciding factor: There was no medical evidence showing a link between the veteran's heart failure and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2004
- Citation
- 0413646
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 0413646.
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The Veteran has withdrawn the appeal for service connection for heart failure, sleep apnea, and erectile dysfunction.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed as the Veteran did not express disagreement with any issue decided by the AOJ within the prior year.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected disabilities were contributory causes.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD as it is but-for due to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and right knee strain. The remaining claims for IBS, hypertension, heart failure, and pericarditis are remanded for further development.
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