The Veteran's atrial fibrillation/tachycardia is granted as service-connected due to aggravation by his in-service ASD repair. Appeals for the remaining issues are dismissed.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on aggravation of a pre-existing condition (atrial fibrillation) beyond its natural progression, but appeals for other conditions were dismissed due to withdrawal of appeal by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- atrial fibrillation/tachycardia, degenerative arthritis left knee, degenerative arthritis right knee, osteoarthritis, right hip, distal esophagus achalasia
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19143011
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · 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 19143011.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right knee, left knee, and cervical spine with spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis were dismissed due to a procedural defect in the filing of the VA Form 10182 Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for osteoarthritis of the right hip and left hip dislocation have been denied. The current disability ratings are deemed appropriate.,There is no legal basis to assign a higher rating for any of the service-connected conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeal for revision of a December 2007 rating decision that denied service connection for a left knee condition was dismissed due to the premature filing of a disagreement with a deferred adjudication. The appeals for CUE in ratings assigned for degenerative arthritis of the left hip, right knee, and left elbow were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for right ankle arthritis, left ankle arthritis, and degenerative arthritis of the left knee.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.