The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an aortic disorder to include bicuspid aortic valve, aneurysm, and deteriorating valve secondary to his service-connected sleep apnea. The preponderance of evidence shows that these conditions are not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions determined that the Veteran's current aortic disabilities are not proximately due to or the result of, or aggravated beyond its natural progression by service-connected sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- aortic aneurysm, bicuspid aortic valve, aneurysm, deteriorating valve
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074161
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,421 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20074161.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for aortic aneurysm secondary to his service-connected hypertension, squamous cell cancer of the skin, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The issues of entitlement to compensable ratings for hypertension and colon cancer residuals are also remanded due to potential impact on the issue of a 10 percent evaluation based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and secondary service connection for aneurysm and hemorrhagic stroke with residuals to include as secondary to hypertension.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for an effective date of March 3, 2022, for the award of service connection for aortic aneurysm is granted. The rating assigned remains at 60 percent.
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