The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for atherosclerotic heart disease, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and is not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: There is no direct evidence of atherosclerotic heart disease during service or within one year after discharge. The VA examiner stated there is nothing in the claims folder suggesting the veteran's heart disease was secondary to his DM, as the DM was diagnosed three years after the heart disease.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2006
- Citation
- 0638873
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 0638873.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including a bilateral eye disability and cardiovascular conditions, based on the Veteran's in-service occupational exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and atherosclerotic heart disease due to the interwoven issue of character of discharge.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease based on presumed exposure to herbicides. Erectile dysfunction was also granted as secondary to the service-connected hypertension. Hand tremors were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for anxiety disorder, high blood pressure (hypertension), atherosclerotic heart disease, type II diabetes mellitus, and diabetic neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities. The effective date for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was also denied.
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