The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his heart disorder to his military service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no clear and unmistakable evidence of a pre-existing heart disorder at service entrance, and concluded that the Veteran’s heart disorder was not related to his active military service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19144318
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 the Veteran's cause of death, finding that his hypertensive cardiovascular disease began during service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and remanded the claims for other conditions due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart disability, to include hypertensive cardiovascular disease and myocardial ischemia, as the November 2023 VA examination is inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a medical opinion under the PACT Act due to the Veteran's exposure at Camp Lejeune.
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