The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be sudden cardiac death caused by atherosclerotic heart disease. The service-connected back disability is not considered the principal or contributory cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion and expert advisory medical opinion from a VHA cardiologist concluded that the service-connected back disability did not contribute substantially or materially to the Veteran's cause of death, which was sudden cardiac death caused by atherosclerotic heart disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease, Presumed renal cell carcinoma with local metastasis to lymph nodes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2017
- Citation
- 1705805
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 1705805.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored a 60 percent disability rating for ischemic heart disease, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerotic heart disease (IHD) effective September 13, 2023. The decision concludes that the reduction in rating from 60 percent to 30 percent was not proper due to actual improvement in the Veteran's condition under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a disability incurred in or aggravated during his military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Granted
The Board grants the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date of January 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for heart disabilities based on direct service connection.
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