The Veteran's cause of death, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, was not incurred in service and is not otherwise etiologically related to active service. The Board found no actual duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam that would support a finding of Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: No evidence supports the Veteran’s assertions of in-service Agent Orange exposure; therefore, there is no presumption of herbicide exposure applicable.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2018
- Citation
- 18142993
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 18142993.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is related to his service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including right and left shoulder strains with degenerative arthritis, right and left hip degenerative arthritis, left ankle degenerative arthritis with chronic instability and anterior talofibular ligament strain, cervical spine degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and obstructive sleep apnea, all of which are secondary to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or symptoms related to these conditions during the Veteran's active service.
- Denied
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for various conditions, including migraine headaches, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, myasthenia gravis with right upper extremity muscle weakness, and others.
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