The Veteran's cause of death, atherosclerotic heart disease with underlying cardiopulmonary arrest, was not caused or contributed to by his service-connected disabilities. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure during service and thus could not presume service connection for the heart condition.
The deciding factor: There is no direct evidence that the Veteran's atherosclerotic heart disease manifested in service or was proximately due to service, including herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic heart disease, cardiopulmonary arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19128679
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including a bilateral eye disability and cardiovascular conditions, based on the Veteran's in-service occupational exposures.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death as there was no evidence linking any of the listed conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and atherosclerotic heart disease due to the interwoven issue of character of discharge.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart disease based on presumed exposure to herbicides. Erectile dysfunction was also granted as secondary to the service-connected hypertension. Hand tremors were denied.
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