The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's heart conditions and his service, specifically his exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The Veteran needs a VA examination to determine if his diagnosed heart conditions are related to his service.
The deciding factor: Insufficient medical evidence exists to establish a link between the Veteran's heart conditions and his service, including his exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20000140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 20000140.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's heart condition, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for atrial fibrillation and distressed heart (previously claimed as irregular heartbeat) based on evidence of a link to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received for the claims of service connection for bilateral dry eye disorder, atrial fibrillation (including as secondary to hypertension), left eye disorder other than dry eye including amaurosis fugax, and right foot or ankle disorder (including as secondary to left foot and/or left ankle disability). The appeals are remanded due to insufficient evidence in the current record.
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