The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for ischemic heart disease due to exposure to herbicide agents and granted it, finding that the Veteran served in the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, qualifying him for presumptive service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service records show he was within 12 nautical miles of shore while serving on a ship in the waters of the Republic of Vietnam, which is considered to be within its territorial sea. The Board found that this qualifies him for presumptive service connection based on exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19127607
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19127607.
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.
- 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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