The Board has determined that further medical guidance is necessary to determine whether the Veteran's heart murmur is a congenital or developmental defect, and if so, whether it was aggravated by service. The issues of secondary service connection for various conditions are also remanded.
The deciding factor: Further medical guidance is needed to determine the nature of the Veteran’s preexisting heart murmur and its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- heart murmur, coronary artery disease with bypass graft, valvular heart disease, aortic valve replacement, residuals of strokes with coumadin therapy and seizures, Alzheimer's dementia, impairment of the eye, to include bilateral visual field impairment
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20058890
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 20058890.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for valvular heart disease, peripheral vascular disease of the right and left legs, and hypertension were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for cardiomegaly with cardiac hypertrophy and valvular heart disease has been dismissed due to the appellant withdrawing the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Alzheimer's dementia as secondary to bilateral hearing loss and special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance due to the Veteran's dementia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for clarification on whether his valvular heart disease is related to his service-connected supraventricular tachycardia, and because the TDIU claim is intertwined with the increased rating claim.
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