The Veteran died in March 1989 due to atherosclerotic heart disease. The appellant filed for DIC benefits on March 19, 2015, and the effective date was set at March 19, 2014. The Board found that an earlier effective date is not warranted as VA did not review the claim within one year of August 31, 2010, when ischemic heart disease became a presumptive disease.
The deciding factor: The appellant's notice of disagreement was filed more than one year after the effective date for the award of DIC benefits based on the liberalizing law and general effective date provisions set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.114 and 3.400.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2017
- Citation
- 1730298
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1730298.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted DIC benefits based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected prostate cancer and its treatment caused his death due to side effects from Zytiga.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death due to cardiac arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease was not related or attributable to his military service, thus denying the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease are denied. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for hypertension and atherosclerotic heart disease due to insufficient medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma and gallbladder, service connection for atherosclerotic heart disease, and service connection for fatigue have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
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