The Veteran's congenital heart disease (atrial septal defect) clearly and unmistakably preexisted the Veteran's period of active service and was not aggravated by active service.
The deciding factor: Clear and unmistakable evidence shows that the Veteran's congenital heart disease existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service, as determined by a Board of Medical Survey in 1946 and confirmed by medical opinions from a private cardiothoracic surgeon.
- Claimed conditions
- congenital heart disease (atrial septal defect)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2009
- Citation
- 0909332
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · 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 0909332.
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