The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a heart disability and granted it, finding that new and material evidence was received. The Veteran's heart disabilities are presumed to be due to exposure to ionizing radiation during his service in Japan.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by Dr. King established a link between the Veteran's cardiac conditions and his exposure to ionizing radiation during service in Nagasaki, Japan.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease, mitral valve stenosis with regurgitation and aortic stenosis with aortic and mitral valve replacement, chronic atrial fibrillation, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2014
- Citation
- 1411903
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 1411903.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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