The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to clarify the Veteran's heart disorder and determine its relationship to his service, including Agent Orange exposure. The examiner must also address whether the Veteran's heart condition is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The decision requires clarification of the Veteran's current heart disorders and their relation to service, particularly regarding Agent Orange exposure and PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- atriial fibrillation with atrial flutter, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure (CHF), heart block
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19100167
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19100167.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's heart condition, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient consideration of secondary service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) related to the Veteran's service-connected foot disability and depression.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cardiomyopathy and hypertension due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the April 2025 rating decision. The issues are being remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.
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