The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for aortic valve insufficiency, coronary artery disease, chronic ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarctions as they are not related to his active service or secondary to his service-connected rheumatic fever.
The deciding factor: The VHA expert medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's cardiac valvular pathology is not etiologically related to his service-connected rheumatic fever, and the evidence does not demonstrate a current disability was caused by or aggravated by a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- aortic valve insufficiency, coronary artery disease, chronic ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarctions
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0908871
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease, vascular headaches, and cerebrovascular accident with left eye vision problem rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from April 1, 2015 to May 28, 2018.
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