The Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disability, including ischemic heart disease and coronary artery disease due to herbicide exposure is granted. The Board finds the evidence in equipoise regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicides during his active duty service, thus granting presumptive service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's statements of his duties as an aircraft mechanic and participation in a helicopter evacuation mission are consistent with his service record and VA conceded his exposure to Agent Orange. The Board finds the evidence supports the presumption of herbicide exposure leading to service connection for ischemic heart disease and coronary artery disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19189931
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 19189931.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction, status post stent placement, as well as obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
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