The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, ischemic cardiomyopathy due to cardiac failure, was not caused by service or his service-connected conditions. Therefore, the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found a less than 50% probability that the Veteran's heart disease was proximately due to or the result of service or his service-connected leg and back disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- ischemic cardiomyopathy, cardiac failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 25, 2016
- Citation
- 1621232
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 1621232.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, and requests medical opinions on the etiology of his coronary artery disease, GERD with dyspepsia, and upper respiratory infection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error regarding the Veteran's exposure to asbestos and Agent Orange during service. The claims are now pending for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
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