The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 60% for ischemic heart disease was denied from February 9, 2007 to February 20, 2008. The claim for a rating in excess of 30% was denied from February 21, 2008 to August 31, 2009. Finally, the claim for a rating in excess of 60% was denied from November 1, 2009 to May 15, 2011.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes due to lack of chronic congestive heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction less than 30% during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Chronic congestive heart failure, Left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent, Workload of 3 METs or less resulting in dyspnea, fatigue, angina, dizziness, or syncope
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19122766
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 19122766.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 claim for an initial rating of 30 percent prior to July 18, 2014, and a higher than 60 percent rating thereafter for ischemic heart disease is being remanded due to incomplete evidence. The examiner needs to provide more detailed information about the severity of his service-connected condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and increased rating for ischemic heart disease due to a failure by the AOJ to request SSA records, which were not available.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction, status post stent placement, as well as obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for ischemic heart disease as there was no evidence of herbicide exposure and the Veteran's condition is not related to his military service.
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