The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for his heart disability, including non-ischemic and valvular heart disease, due to service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
The deciding factor: The opinion of Dr. R.B., a cardiologist who treated the Veteran for years, concluded that the Veteran's non-ischemic heart disease and valvular heart disease have worsened since his diabetes diagnosis in 2011, and is consistent with medical literature linking diabetes mellitus type II to atrial fibrillation.
- Claimed conditions
- non-ischemic heart disease, valvular heart disease
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2016
- Citation
- 1644488
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 1644488.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for valvular heart disease, peripheral vascular disease of the right and left legs, and hypertension were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for cardiomegaly with cardiac hypertrophy and valvular heart disease has been dismissed due to the appellant withdrawing the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for clarification on whether his valvular heart disease is related to his service-connected supraventricular tachycardia, and because the TDIU claim is intertwined with the increased rating claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically failing to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's valvular heart disease and coronary artery calcification is caused or aggravated by his service-connected hypertension.
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