The Board finds that the appellant's current cardiovascular disability, including coronary artery disease and sick sinus syndrome, is related to his active service, particularly given his exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found a diagnosis of hypertension incurred during service, which led to the appellant's current cardiovascular disability (coronary artery disease and sick sinus syndrome). Given this finding and the appellant's exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam, the Board grants service connection based on presumptive exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, sick sinus syndrome
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2018
- Citation
- 1813403
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 1813403.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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