The Board has remanded the claims for heart disability, GERD, and sleep apnea due to inadequate examinations and a need for further medical evaluation.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately consider the Veteran's reported symptoms during service and since separation from service when determining the etiology of his claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19162351
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19162351.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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 Veteran's appeal for service connection for Dupuytren's contracture of the left hand, right hand, and GERD is remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions and failure to consider toxic exposure risk activities during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's GERD is currently rated at 10 percent disabling, but the Board found that his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.
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