The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a heart disability and hypertension, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or any service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's claimed conditions and his military service, including exposure to herbicides or PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, ischemic heart disease (IHD), atriial septal aneurysm, mitral valve prolapse, systolic murmur
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19195791
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 19195791.
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's hypertension was granted service connection effective August 10, 2022. The heart disability was granted secondary to the hypertension.,An initial rating of 30% for the heart disability was granted in May 2023 and increased to 60% since October 22, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse, finding that the Veteran's heart disability was aggravated by military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, heart disability, and rheumatoid arthritis due to procedural errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
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