The Board has granted an effective date of September 15, 2004 for the award of service connection for ischemic heart disease (IHD) diagnosed as coronary artery disease (CAD). The Veteran had atherosclerotic plaque formation as early as January 1997.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence shows that the Veteran had IHD manifested by chronic stable angina as early as January 1997, before the date VA received his claim for service connection. As he is a Vietnam veteran with presumptive service connection for CAD due to exposure to herbicides, the effective date is determined based on the earlier of the date of claim or the date the disability arose.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1549605
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 1549605.
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 of service connection for a heart disability and hypertension due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ is required to obtain addendum medical opinions regarding toxic exposure risk activities (TERA).
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU and SMC for housebound status are granted based on service-connected PTSD from October 12, 2023, and CAD from October 1, 2022. The appeals were granted due to the severity of these conditions preventing the Veteran from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD) is being remanded for a VA examination to determine its current severity and for the consideration of any outstanding private medical records.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating based on depressive disorder is granted from October 17, 2018 to March 26, 2019. SMC at the housebound rate is also granted prior to March 26, 2019.
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