The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and incomplete evidentiary development. The Veteran's cardiovascular disability, including aortic stenosis, heart murmur, rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and atherosclerotic vascular disease with aortic atherosclerosis, is being reviewed for service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board found the VA medical opinions insufficient to support the decision and that further development was needed to investigate the prevalence of rheumatic fever among service members stationed in Alaska during the 1950s.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiovascular disability, aortic stenosis, heart murmur, rheumatic heart disease, atriial fibrillation, atherosclerotic vascular disease with aortic atherosclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189495
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 19189495.
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.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for a heart condition was dismissed due to lack of timely notice of disagreement and new and material evidence.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that her stress fractures of the calcaneal bones were no more than moderate in severity and that she did not have a current right shoulder disability. The claims for service connection for angioedema, hives, abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, heart murmur, migraine headaches, allergic rhinitis, left ankle disability, and prolapsed rectum were remanded for further development.
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