The veteran's organic heart disease, which is a presumptive service connection condition as a former POW, contributed to his death. Service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: The revised regulations established that the veteran acquired organic heart disease as a former POW, which is a presumptive service connection condition.
- Claimed conditions
- organic heart disease, cardiorespiratory arrest, pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 18, 2005
- Citation
- 0501414
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0501414.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiorespiratory arrest and metastatic esophageal cancer. The appellant is recognized as the surviving spouse, but service connection for cause of death remains pending due to insufficient information on in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and pneumonia due to insufficient evidence in the record. The Veteran's current diagnoses are not supported by the medical records provided.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's cardiorespiratory arrest to his military service or a service-connected disability.
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