The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for valvular heart disease with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, but denied both the claim for service connection and the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA physicians and an independent medical expert did not support a link between the veteran's valvular heart disease and other chronic heart pathology with his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease with congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2006
- Citation
- 0603892
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a VA opinion to determine which disability, obstructive sleep apnea or restrictive airway disease, was predominant from November 8, 2012 to May 22, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory disorder, to include pulmonary hypertension, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and obstructive and restrictive lung diseases, due to inadequate VA examination and opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary hypertension and erectile dysfunction as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension, but denied service connection for lead poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning. The Board also denied a compensable initial disability rating for hypertension and an increased initial disability rating for lumbosacral strain.
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