The Board has ordered additional development to obtain service treatment records and seek an unbiased medical opinion regarding the Veteran's heart disease.
The deciding factor: Additional development is required due to incomplete record and potential for advocacy in the private medical opinions provided.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2017
- Citation
- 1756280
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 1756280.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by acute hypoxic respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with hypertension as a significant contributing factor. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran's complete military records and treatment records.
- 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.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board cannot issue a decision on this claim as it is no longer pending.
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