The Veteran's service-connected rheumatic fever with secondary rheumatic heart mitral valve disease does not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: VA examiners have consistently found that the Veteran’s service-connected heart condition, alone or in combination with other non-service-connected disabilities, does not preclude him from obtaining sedentary work with light physical demands.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic fever with secondary rheumatic heart mitral valve disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2018
- Citation
- 18146618
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 18146618.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected rheumatic fever with secondary rheumatic heart mitral valve disease prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment, as determined by the Board.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to the need for additional medical and vocational assessments to determine his functional limitations caused by his service-connected rheumatic heart disease, as well as its impact on his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's heart disability, which includes rheumatic fever with secondary rheumatic heart mitral valve disease and coronary artery disease with single vessel stent placement, is currently rated at 30 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating or TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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