The Veteran's claim for an initial 100 percent disability rating for coronary artery disease (CAD) status post coronary artery bypass grafting is granted. The claim for a noncompensable disability rating for the surgical scar secondary to his service-connected CAD is denied. The effective date of the grant of service connection for CAD status post coronary artery bypass grafting with surgical scar is set at October 26, 2017.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left ventricular ejection fraction was measured at 50-55 percent and his METs were limited to 1-3 with symptoms of fatigue and dizziness. The VA examiner found the Veteran’s workload of less than 3 METs constituted a 100% disability rating for CAD.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19147776
Veterans Law Judge
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 19147776.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance from June 1, 2011, to May 24, 2017, finding that his need for regular aid and attendance was not established during this period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's current coronary artery disease with acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction with coronary stent is being remanded for further evaluation due to the lack of a medical nexus between his service-connected hypertension and his heart 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.
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