The Board denied service connection for residuals of rheumatic fever, claimed as irregular heart beat, coronary artery bypass surgery, and carotid stenosis in June 2002. The veteran did not appeal this decision. He filed a new claim seeking to reopen the claim in September 2002.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted since the Board's June 2002 decision does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of rheumatic fever, irregular heart beat, coronary artery bypass surgery, carotid stenosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0602216
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0602216.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death, including MI, CAD, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and carotid stenosis, is being remanded for further development to assess whether it was caused by or related to symptoms of chest pain during service or toxic exposures during service at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for carotid stenosis and atrial fibrillation as the Veteran withdrew his claims.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's rheumatic heart disease with coronary artery disease, status post stent placement is rated at 60 percent effective April 20, 2023.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of carotid stenosis has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew his appeal.
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