The Board remanded the claim for a VA examination to determine if the veteran's coronary heart disease and lower extremity arterial disease are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence suggests that the veteran's tobacco use, which may be secondary to his PTSD, is related to his claimed disabilities, but a thorough medical opinion is needed for an adequate determination.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, status post myocardial infarction, obstructed arterial disease of the lower extremities with claudication
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0904021
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 0904021.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, status post myocardial infarction, and obstructed arterial disease of the lower extremities with claudication are etiologically related to or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran is seeking service connection for coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, status post myocardial infarction and obstructed arterial disease of the lower extremities with claudication. The case has been remanded due to the need for a hearing before the Board.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.