The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of STRs and for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran has current residuals from an in-service illness thought to be rheumatic fever.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on insufficient evidence, specifically missing service treatment records that could provide information about the Veteran's claimed condition and its onset during service.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic fever, heart murmur, palpitations, rashes on arms, neurological shaking disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185332
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) and remanded the claims for diabetes, hypertension, skin pigmentation, heart murmur, hip replacement, and left leg injury to include a left ankle and left knee condition due to insufficient evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, dizziness, headaches, palpitations, shortness of breath (dyspnea), sleep apnea, plantar fasciitis and heel spurs, and left big toe posttraumatic residual pain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart murmur as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected non-rheumatic aortic stenosis with coronary artery disease.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.