The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease, finding that the original claim was filed on April 11, 2004 and there were no prior documents that could be construed as a claim for ischemic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's original claim for service connection for a heart disability was not received until April 11, 2004, which is after the effective date of special regulations creating a presumption of service connection for ischemic heart disease. Therefore, the earlier effective date requested by the Veteran could not be granted.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1803910
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 1803910.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease, which is presumed related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
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