The Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease and resulting heart transplant are found to be related to service and contributed substantially to his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran had an abnormal ECG on separation examination, probable arteriosclerotic heart disease was diagnosed post-service, and the heart transplant was a result of severe heart disease. The cause of death was listed as adenocarcinoma of the abdomen due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which was related to his heart condition.
- Claimed conditions
- arteriosclerotic heart disease, adenocarcinoma of the abdomen
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2010
- Citation
- 1005502
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 1005502.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease, finding that the evidence is within approximate balance that it was caused by toxic exposure during service in Southwest Asia.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate initial 20 percent rating for right knee meniscal tear based on limitation of knee flexion, and an initial 60 percent rating for arteriosclerotic heart disease. It also granted TDIU due to service-connected residuals of prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for his service-connected conditions, as well as a TDIU.
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