The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for valvular heart disease with ascending aortic aneurysm, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and his military service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a link between the Veteran's in-service period and his current heart conditions. The Board found that the Veteran did not have symptoms or diagnoses related to these conditions during his active duty service, and thus could not establish service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, ascending aortic aneurysm
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19196110
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 19196110.
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 a 100 percent rating for valvular heart disease based on MET testing showing that at a workload of 3 METs or less, the condition results in fatigue and breathlessness.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia, chronic paronychia, psoriasis and rosacea (claimed as skin condition), pulmonary nodules, and valvular heart disease.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of August 6, 2021 for service connection for heart disease based on the Veteran's exposure to chemicals in service.
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