The veteran's atherosclerotic heart disease and left ventricular hypertrophy, along with renal insufficiency, contributed to his death. As the veteran was a former prisoner of war, service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on the veteran's atherosclerotic heart disease and left ventricular hypertrophy, which are recognized as complications of service-connected conditions in former prisoners of war.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease with left ventricular hypertrophy, Renal insufficiency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- December 4, 2006
- Citation
- 0637566
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 0637566.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial claim for service-connected ischemic heart disease was granted with a 10% rating, which was later increased to 30%, and then to 60% effective August 14, 2025. The case is denied for an initial disability rating greater than 10 percent prior to August 10, 2015, and for a higher initial rating for diabetes mellitus, type II. Service connection was granted for renal insufficiency, but not for residuals of multiple fragment wounds of the left thigh.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial rating for CAD with renal insufficiency was denied prior to November 9, 2018. From November 9, 2018 to December 3, 2018, a 100% rating was granted. The Veteran is also entitled to a TDIU based on his service-connected heart and kidney conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetic neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy of his lower extremities, rendered him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to April 24, 2019. The Board granted the TDIU claim based on these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and renal insufficiency as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected ischemic heart disease. The decision is based on presumed exposure to herbicide agents in the coastal waters of Vietnam.
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