The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding whether any diagnosed heart disability is related to active service, including as due to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's presumed exposure to Agent Orange must be considered.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether any diagnosed heart disability is related to active service and improperly found that the condition was not related to service because he did not meet the requirements for presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, cardiac arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, atriioventricular block, atypical chest pain, sick sinus syndrome, patent foramen ovale, transient ischemic attack, occlusion stenosis of carotid artery with cerebral infarction and/or CVA
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2018
- Citation
- 18143901
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18143901.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension was granted service connection effective August 10, 2022. The heart disability was granted secondary to the hypertension.,An initial rating of 30% for the heart disability was granted in May 2023 and increased to 60% since October 22, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, heart disability, and rheumatoid arthritis due to procedural errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, heart disability, sleep apnea, asthma, and chronic bronchitis as new and relevant evidence was not received to reopen these claims. The Veteran did not have current diagnoses of asthma or chronic bronchitis during the appeal period.
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