The Veteran's cause of death, acute pulmonary edema and idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy, is not service-connected as there is no evidence to show in-service onset or chronic a heart condition within one year of separation.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence showing the Veteran’s fatal disabilities had onset in service or are otherwise related to a specific in-service injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute pulmonary edema, Idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105978
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19105978.
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 cause of death is presumed to be due to herbicide exposure, and service connection for the cause of death is granted under the PACT Act.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death due to acute pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's in-service exposure to DDT.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran’s cause of death to a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated during service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding direct service connection and aggravation of pre-existing heart disorder. The Veteran's death was caused by hypertensive cardiac vascular disease, but there is no clear evidence that it was aggravated during service.
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