The cause of the veteran's death, aspiration pneumonia due to atherosclerotic heart disease, was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and is not presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
The deciding factor: The causes of the veteran's death were not linked to his service-connected ankylosing rheumatoid arthritis of the spine or any other condition that may be considered a service connection issue.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease, Aspiration pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- April 11, 2007
- Citation
- 0710583
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 0710583.
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 has restored a 60 percent disability rating for ischemic heart disease, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerotic heart disease (IHD) effective September 13, 2023. The decision concludes that the reduction in rating from 60 percent to 30 percent was not proper due to actual improvement in the Veteran's condition under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a disability incurred in or aggravated during his military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death to obtain a medical opinion regarding the relationship between his in-service pneumonia and his aspiration pneumonia, as well as whether his TBI caused or contributed to his seizures and Parkinson's disease.
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