The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disability, other than valvular heart disease (including inactive rheumatic fever), finding that his current diagnosed conditions are not causally related to his military service and they are not causally related to or aggravated by his valvular heart disease (including inactive rheumatic fever).
The deciding factor: The Board found the Veteran's heart conditions, including SVT, sinus bradycardia, hypertensive heart disease, old MI, CAD, and AAA, were not directly related to his active service.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, super ventricular tachycardia (SVT), sinus bradycardia with first degree heart block, hypertensive heart disease, old myocardial infraction (old MI), coronary artery disease (CAD), abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007667
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for left foot bursitis and coronary artery disease, as well as special monthly compensation based on housebound status.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or was related to an in-service injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for the service-connected heart disability to correct an error by the AOJ in not informing the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
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