The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PVD of both lower extremities, finding that there is no evidence to support a direct relationship between his current condition and military service or herbicide exposure. The Board also found insufficient evidence to establish secondary service connection due to his service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD).
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions for both direct and secondary service connection, citing the Veteran's long-standing history of smoking, overweight condition, hypercholesterolemia, and lack of records showing PVD during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) of the left lower extremity, Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20046466
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20046466.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 29, 2005, for the grant of service connection for peripheral vascular disease (PVD) of both lower extremities and denied increased ratings for PVD from August 25, 2005, to July 6, 2006, with a rating of 20 percent granted from July 7, 2006, to July 6, 2007. The Board also denied an effective date prior to August 25, 2015, for the grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound status.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PVD of the right and left lower extremities, secondary to service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD), effective from the date of the decision.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for PVD of the bilateral lower extremities due to inadequate rationale in a previous VA medical opinion. The case requires further development, including obtaining another VA addendum medical opinion from a different examiner.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for PVD of the bilateral lower extremities due to insufficient evidence and incomplete examinations. The Veteran asserts that his PVD is related to in-service herbicide exposure or caused by his service-connected CAD.
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