The Board denied service connection for ischemic heart disease, finding no evidence of herbicide exposure in Thailand and concluding that the Veteran's condition is not related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found no credible evidence of herbicide agent exposure during the Veteran's service in Thailand, which is a prerequisite for establishing service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19191320
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 19191320.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of ischemic heart disease and diabetes, and these claims are dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension from August 10, 2022, under the PACT Act. The claim for a thyroid disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to request a medical opinion on whether service-connected hypertension or ischemic heart disease was a principal or contributory cause of the Veteran's death.
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