The Veteran's initial disability rating for coronary artery disease has been increased to 30 percent, effective February 9, 2010. The increase is based on evidence of left atrial dilatation documented in an echocardiogram.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner noted left atrial dilatation on the October 2014 echocardiogram and found that it was not related to coronary artery disease, but provided no rationale for this opinion. The Board resolved any doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, benign essential hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19126712
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (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 19126712.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran meets the basic medical eligibility criteria for PCAFC benefits due to his need for personal care services based on symptoms or residuals of neurological or other impairment or injury. However, further clinical evaluation is needed to determine if participation in the program is in the Veteran's best interest.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
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