The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established as there is no evidence showing a heart disorder during service or within one year after discharge. The VA examiner concluded that atrial fibrillation did not contribute substantially to the veteran's death, and other significant disabilities were present prior to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Hyperkalemia, Acute and chronic renal disease, Peripheral vascular disease, Diabetes mellitus, Cardiomyopathy, Colon cancer, Renal cell carcinoma, Thyroid cancer, Tophaceous gout
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2007
- Citation
- 0737169
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 0737169.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected colon cancer disability, finding that there is inadequate evidence to support a compensable rating prior to March 23, 2021 and no increase in rating thereafter.
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