The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records and a new examination to determine if any currently present heart disabilities are related to active service or in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed heart disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- mitral valve disease, cardiomegaly, aortic regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19103051
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD as secondary to the Veteran's PTSD and tinnitus, but denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, right ear hearing loss, chronic sinus condition, bilateral hand condition, jaw condition, aortic regurgitation, discoid lupus, residuals of peptic ulcer, left shoulder condition, right shoulder condition, cervical spine disability, left upper extremity (LUE) radiculopathy secondary to cervical spine disability, and right upper extremity (RUE) radiculopathy secondary to cervical spine disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, as well as a TDIU.
- Denied
The appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection of myocardial infarction and cardiomegaly was denied, as the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of these conditions prior to January 8, 2025.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and an increased rating, finding that the evidence did not support a diagnosis of any of the claimed conditions or establish a link between those conditions and his military service.
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