The Board has determined that the cause of death, cardiogenic shock with an underlying cause of acute myocardial infarction, did not have its onset during active service or any applicable presumptive period and is not related to any in-service disease or injury. Therefore, a service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to cause the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examiner provided an opinion that hypertension and cardiovascular disease did not exist during service and the process of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease was a process that developed after separation.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiogenic shock, acute myocardial infarction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2006
- Citation
- 0611456
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 0611456.
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: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, which included atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, is presumed to be related to herbicide agent exposure during service at Fort McClellan. The Board granted the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking his military service to any of the conditions listed on his death certificate.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ erred in not obtaining a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents caused his cardiogenic shock, valvular heart disease, and/or pulmonary hypertension. The case is being remanded for this purpose.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence linking his conditions to his military service.
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