The Veteran's death was caused by myocardial failure, atherosclerotic vascular disease, and cerebral vascular disease. There is no evidence to support that any of these conditions were service-connected.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the Veteran's cause of death to their active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- Myocardial failure, atherosclerotic vascular disease, cerebral vascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21026819
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 21026819.
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 decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will need to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates of March 29, 2016, for the grants of service connection for multiple conditions including hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, scars, kidney disease, femoral artery occlusion, lacunar stroke, erectile dysfunction, cerebral vascular disease, and valvular heart disease.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between any of his fatal conditions and his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected residuals of a compression fracture of the T-12 spinal segment did not contribute to or accelerate his death from colon cancer with metastases, renal failure, and cerebral vascular disease.
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