The Veteran's heart condition, including ischemic heart disease, is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis and the medical records do not support service connection due to lack of a nexus between his current condition and service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease and the probative medical evidence indicates that his non-occlusive coronary artery disease is more likely caused by his age, gender, and smoking rather than service.
- Claimed conditions
- heart condition, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185170
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.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for GERD, a heart condition, hypertension, a kidney condition, and obstructive sleep apnea as there is no evidence of current disabilities related to these conditions or that they are etiologically linked to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address whether the Appellant's heart condition had onset during his period of ACDUTRA service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's ischemic heart disease, as the previous opinions were found inadequate.
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