The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for heart disease and increased ratings for his lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for heart disease, as there was no objective medical evidence linking it to service or any incident therein.
The deciding factor: There is no clear evidence that the veteran's current heart condition is related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- March 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0607863
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining additional medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and right hand scar, but denied service connection for other claimed conditions including diabetes type II, erectile dysfunction, headaches, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, left shoulder injury, left hand injury, lower back injury, right shoulder injury, upper back injury, and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for heart disease was dismissed, and the claims for erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and COPD were denied. The claim for chronic hip pain was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 3, 2017 and refers the claim for service connection for heart disease back to the AOJ.
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