The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence of ischemic heart disease during his lifetime and thus no basis to apply the presumption of herbicide exposure. The congestive heart failure was found not related to service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence showing the Veteran had ischemic heart disease, which would be required for application of the presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2015
- Citation
- 1513790
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 1513790.
What this means for you
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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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