The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's carotid artery disease is secondary to his service-connected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not consider the relevant medical literature and evidence in the claims file when providing her opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- carotid artery disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2021
- Citation
- 21075329
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 21075329.
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 aortic insufficiency, aortic stenosis and congestive heart failure, and carotid artery disease. The conditions are related to in-service exposure to toxic substances and stress.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, carotid artery disease, coronary artery disease, and renal artery disease as they were not shown to be chronic in service or manifest within the applicable presumptive period; continuity of symptomatology was not established; and there is no evidence that any of these disabilities are otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the underlying claims are returned to the Board.
- Granted
The Veteran's carotid artery disease is related to his in-service herbicide exposure, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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