The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his preexisting rheumatic heart disease was aggravated by military service and contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran had a pre-existing rheumatic heart condition prior to service which likely worsened during military service, contributing substantially or materially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 26, 2007
- Citation
- 0733925
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 0733925.
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 Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's heart condition, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cardiomyopathy and hypertension due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the April 2025 rating decision. The issues are being remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to April 8, 2024, for the award of service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) with bypass graft, acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction, automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and cardiomyopathy was denied. The Board found that the effective date should be April 8, 2024, as it is based on the date of receipt of his intent to file a claim for compensation.
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