The Board determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and therefore denied his claim for service connection for the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: A VA medical examiner concluded that the Veteran's severe coronary atherosclerosis with prior myocardial infarction did not manifest in service or be otherwise etiologically related to service. The examiner also determined there was no evidence of hypertension in service, and the Veteran had a strong genetic predisposition to heart disease.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary sclerosis, hypertensive arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2013
- Citation
- 1331571
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 1331571.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal is dismissed as his freestanding claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for heart disease has no legal merit. The Board also denied a higher disability rating for his service-connected heart disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination to determine his need for aid and attendance or housebound benefits. The referred issues of service connection will also be addressed.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a reopening of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and a medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death.
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