The Board found that the veteran's cause of death, acute myocardial infarction and coronary arteriosclerosis, was not related to service-connected conditions or a contributory cause of death due to service. The appellant could not establish that her husband sustained a head injury in service which contributed substantially and materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The autopsy report listed the veteran's remote history of a fall in 1946 with subsequent severe headaches as one of 18 contributing factors, but did not provide sufficient evidence linking these conditions to his cardiovascular or lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- Myocardial infarction, Coronary arteriosclerosis, Right lobectomy for squamous cell carcinoma, Gastrointestinal disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2005
- Citation
- 0505429
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 0505429.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction, status post stent placement, as well as obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in the duty to assist and insufficient opinions regarding service connection for a gastrointestinal disability. The Veteran's symptoms include epigastric burning, regurgitation, nausea without vomiting, persistently recurrent epigastric distress, reflux, substernal pain, sleep disturbance caused by esophageal reflux, diarrhea, dysphagia, Barrett's esophagus, and esophagitis.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his coronary artery disease prior to February 7, 2018 was denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent. Since February 7, 2018, the Veteran's CAD has been rated at 60 percent due to symptoms such as dyspnea, fatigue, and angina with a METs level greater than 3 but less than 5.
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