The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected heart disability, as well as claims for secondary service connection for right and left lower extremity edema and a hernia, are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.
The deciding factor: Additional medical evaluation is required to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected heart disability and to assess whether his bilateral lower extremity edema and hernia are related to or aggravated by his service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2021
- Citation
- 21074571
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 21074571.
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 Veteran's heart disability has been rated at 100% from September 12, 2022 to August 18, 2023. He is also eligible for special monthly compensation and Dependents' Educational Assistance during this period.
- Denied
The Veteran's heart disability is currently rated at 60 percent from February 24, 2023.,The effective date for the grant of TDIU was set to February 24, 2023.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity is denied as there was no prior formal or informal claim submitted before July 2, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Board requests retrospective findings from an appropriate clinician to determine the severity of the Veteran's service-connected heart disability.
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