The Board found no evidence to support the veteran's claim that his heart disease, including congestive heart failure and idiopathic cardiomyopathy, was caused by exposure to Agent Orange during service. The Board concluded that there is insufficient medical evidence linking the veteran's current heart condition to his military service.
The deciding factor: The first objective evidence of any complaint or diagnosis for the veteran's heart disease occurred many years after separation from service and no competent medical evidence established a direct connection between the veteran's heart disease and his service, including herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disease, congestive heart failure, idiopathic cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0614556
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 0614556.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease are being remanded due to the need for VA examinations to determine if these conditions are related to his exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's eligibility for PCAFC benefits is remanded due to the AOJ's failure to address whether it is in the best interest of the Veteran to participate in the program. The Board finds that the Veteran has been in need of personal care services for at least six continuous months based on an inability to perform the ADL of bathing.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
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