The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease as a result of herbicide agent exposure, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is at least in equipoise with evidence showing manifestations to a degree of 10 percent disabling. The motorcycle accident prior to service was not found to be a recognized cause of the condition.
The deciding factor: The Board granted service connection based on the presumption for herbicide agent exposure, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is at least in equipoise with evidence showing manifestations to a degree of 10 percent disabling. The motorcycle accident prior to service was not found to be a recognized cause of the condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19195319
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 19195319.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for ischemic heart disease as there was no evidence of herbicide exposure and the Veteran's condition is not related to his military service.
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