The Veteran's heart condition, including atrioventricular block and arrhythmia, is presumed to have been caused by his exposure to burn pits during service in Iraq. The Board finds that the symptoms qualify as an undiagnosed illness under Persian Gulf War Syndrome criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's cardiovascular signs and symptoms are considered a qualifying chronic disability due to exposure to burn pits while serving in Iraq, meeting the presumptive period for undiagnosed illnesses.
- Claimed conditions
- atriioventricular block, unexplained syncope, arrhythmia, right bundle branch block, left anterior fascicular block
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2018
- Citation
- 1821172
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 1821172.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for hypertension, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, GERD, Barrett's esophagus, and arrhythmia are remanded due to pre-decisional errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection due to lack of new and relevant evidence.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection due to his death.
- Granted
An effective date of February 16, 2023, but no earlier, for the grant of service connection for hypertensive heart disease with valvular heart disease and atrioventricular block is granted. The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded to determine if he was unemployable solely by reason of his service-connected hypertensive heart disease with valvular heart disease and atrioventricular block prior to November 14, 2023.
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