The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his coronary artery disease prior to January 16, 2012 and his TDIU claim prior to May 1, 2012.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a retrospective medical opinion was needed to determine the Veteran's METs level and LVEF prior to his coronary artery bypass graft and mitral valve replacement on January 16, 2012, as well as whether he had evidence of cardiac hypertrophy or dilatation. Additionally, the TDIU claim must be remanded due to its inextricability with the initial rating issue.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20014177
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 20014177.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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