The Board has determined that the veteran's atrial septal defect, which was present prior to service and not aggravated by military service, does not warrant service connection.
The deciding factor: The preexisting atrial septal defect did not undergo any permanent increase in severity during active duty, and there is no clear and unmistakable evidence of aggravation. The veteran's fainting episode during service was not indicative of a worsening of the condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Atrial Septal Defect
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0618649
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,175 · Granted: 22% (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 0618649.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a heart disorder, as it is unclear if there was an additional disability due to disease or injury superimposed upon the Veteran's congenital atrial septal defect during service.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for a 60% rating for atrial septal defect with Amplatzer device closure due to the lack of evidence showing the Veteran's heart disability met the criteria for such rating prior to June 8, 2018.
- Granted
The Board found that the veteran's heart disorder, which was a congenital condition preexisting her service, increased in severity during service and is related to her surgery. The Board granted service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
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