The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as well as denial of DIC benefits and nonservice-connected pension benefits. The immediate cause of the veteran's death was arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions indicated that antipsychotic medications prescribed for bipolar disorder did not contribute substantially to the cause of death, while a cardiologist opined against such a relationship based on the lack of evidence of arrhythmia in the veteran's records.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 15, 2005
- Citation
- 0504076
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 0504076.
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
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Partly granted
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