The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a gastrointestinal disability in service or within one year following discharge, and thus cannot be presumed to have been incurred therein.,There is also insufficient evidence linking any current heart disorder to service. The Veteran's separation examination did not reveal any heart issues.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that any current gastrointestinal, heart, or pulmonary conditions are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal Disability (Ulcers), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Heart Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2012
- Citation
- 1206519
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 1206519.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Heart Disorder due to a duty to assist error in obtaining opinions regarding whether these conditions are aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a heart disorder and OSA, as secondary to a heart disorder due to incomplete records and failure to consider all relevant in-service exposures. The Veteran's exposure to PFAS at Robins AFB is acknowledged, but further development is needed to address his COPD and smoking history.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a heart disorder is being remanded due to the inadequacy of the July 2020 VA medical opinion, which did not adequately address the Veteran's assertions regarding the carelessness or negligence of his health care providers and the failure to diagnose and treat his heart condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart disorder, characterized as an exercise induced left bundle branch block, began during his active duty service and is therefore granted service connection.
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