The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to atherosclerotic heart disease, which is presumed to have been caused by the Veteran's former POW status. The Board finds that this condition substantially contributed to the Veteran's death and grants service connection.
The deciding factor: The evidence now supports the conclusion that atherosclerotic heart disease was present during the Veteran's lifetime until his death, and it is at least in equipoise as to whether this condition caused or substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2009
- Citation
- 0948838
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 0948838.
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 DIC benefits based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected prostate cancer and its treatment caused his death due to side effects from Zytiga.
- Denied
The Veteran's death due to cardiac arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease was not related or attributable to his military service, thus denying the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease are denied. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for hypertension and atherosclerotic heart disease due to insufficient medical opinions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma and gallbladder, service connection for atherosclerotic heart disease, and service connection for fatigue have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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