The Veteran's current heart disorder, including aortic aneurysm and atrial fibrillation, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The Board finds no evidence of a chronic heart disability during service and the length of time between separation from service and onset of symptoms weighs against granting the claim on both a direct and presumptive basis.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the Veteran's current heart disorder to his in-service illness, and the passage of nearly 30 years since service without any complaints or treatment for such condition supports this conclusion.
- Claimed conditions
- aortic aneurysm, heart damage, pericarditis, residuals of penicillin reaction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2010
- Citation
- 1027894
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 1027894.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, valvular heart disease (chest pain and cardiac valve stenosis), aortic aneurysm, and hypertension as these conditions were not found to be etiologically related to the Veteran's active duty service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for hypertension was granted due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand, while the claims for diabetes mellitus, type II, chronic sinusitis, and other conditions were denied or remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 100 percent evaluation for pericarditis and special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria, effective November 1, 2024.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the October 2022 rating decision finding no new and relevant evidence to readjudicate the claim for service connection for myocardial infarction, myocarditis, and pericarditis was dismissed as procedurally defective.
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