The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric or cognitive disorder was not caused by his service-connected rheumatic valvulitis, and denied both claims for increased rating and secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA opinion concluded that the Veteran's current psychiatric and cognitive disorders were less likely than not related to his heart valve replacement surgery due to lack of documented evidence of brain damage during the surgery and because they arose significantly later than the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric or cognitive disorder, Rheumatic valvulitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2014
- Citation
- 1445097
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1445097.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board finds that the Veteran's current heart disability, including hypertension with mild left ventricular hypertrophy, mitral regurgitation, and pulmonary hypertension, is not etiologically related to his in-service diagnosis of rheumatic valvulitis.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for his right knee disability. The Veteran was granted service connection for rheumatic valvulitis, but this is not relevant to the current appeal.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the cause of death, ventricular fibrillation due to or as a consequence of coronary artery disease, was not caused by or aggravated by any service-connected disability. The veteran's service-connected rheumatic valvulitis did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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