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
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of ischemic heart disease and diabetes, and these claims are dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension from August 10, 2022, under the PACT Act. The claim for a thyroid disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to request a medical opinion on whether service-connected hypertension or ischemic heart disease was a principal or contributory cause of the Veteran's death.
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