The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his heart condition to service or Agent Orange exposure. The Board also found that the veteran's apparent myocardial infarction was not related to any in-service disease or injury.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish a direct relationship between the veteran's heart condition and service, nor could it be presumed due to his Vietnam-era service.
- Claimed conditions
- Apparent myocardial infarction, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0607557
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0607557.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, but no higher.,The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathy are each rated at 40 percent, but no higher.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with arthritis is granted as his current condition can be linked to his in-service symptoms and post-service progression.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with arthritis is currently rated at 10 percent prior to October 11, 2019 and at 20 percent on or after that date. The Board has determined additional development is needed due to a remand in a previous case.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine condition is granted a 40% rating, and his right knee conditions are denied increased ratings. Service connection for pseudofolliculitis barbae (skin disability) is remanded.
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