The Board has remanded the case due to an incomplete medical opinion regarding the Veteran's heart disability. The Veteran is seeking service connection for a heart disability, which includes diagnoses of mitral valve prolapse and a heart murmur.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by Dr. I.B. was inadequate as it did not consider all relevant evidence, including an October 2015 diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse and the Veteran's testimony regarding her symptoms and medical history related to her claimed heart disability.
- Claimed conditions
- heart murmur, mitral valve prolapse
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20062963
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 20062963.
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 bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse, finding that the Veteran's heart disability was aggravated by military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for heart murmur and allergic rhinitis, finding the current conditions are related to service. Service connection was denied for headaches and residuals of traumatic brain injury due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a heart disability (mitral valve prolapse) due to new and relevant evidence, finding that it was aggravated by military service. Service connection is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination, and further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran's heart disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service.
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