The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a service-connected disability caused or contributed to the death.
The deciding factor: There was no objective medical evidence suggesting hypertension before, during, or after service, and the appellant's spouse did not have a service-connected disability that could be considered as contributing to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2005
- Citation
- 0501749
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0501749.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal is dismissed as his freestanding claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for heart disease has no legal merit. The Board also denied a higher disability rating for his service-connected heart disease.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination to determine his need for aid and attendance or housebound benefits. The referred issues of service connection will also be addressed.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and therefore denied his claim for service connection for the cause of his death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and a medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.
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