The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board found that hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and ischemic heart disease were not likely connected to his death.
The deciding factor: VA examiners determined that the Veteran did not have diabetes mellitus or ischemic heart disease, which precluded presumptive service connection based on exposure to Agent Orange. The examiner also concluded that the diagnosed valvular disease was not included in the definition of ischemic heart disease and thus could not be considered a contributing cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular disease, sepsis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2012
- Citation
- 1239652
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 1239652.
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 Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, sepsis, and urinary tract infection due to incomplete records and a need for additional medical opinions.
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