The Board has determined that the VA examination and medical opinions are inadequate for determining whether the Veteran's heart disability is related to his service, including exposure to herbicide agents. The claim is being remanded for a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examinations did not consider whether the Veteran's heart condition was related to his presumed herbicide agent exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, aortic valve stenosis post aortic valve replacement
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2018
- Citation
- 1806510
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 1806510.
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 Board remands the claim for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for the service-connected heart disability to correct an error by the AOJ in not informing the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or was related to an in-service injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bronchial asthma, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a heart disability associated with the appellant's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The remaining claims were remanded to correct pre-decisional errors.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism, DVT, and a heart disability as secondary to residuals of acute renal failure. The claim for an initial compensable rating for acute hepatocellular necrosis was denied.
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