The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities aggravated his heart disability. The claim will be returned for further development and consideration.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately address aggravation of the Veteran's heart conditions by his service-connected disabilities, including osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy of the upper and lower extremities, asthma, fibromyalgia, cervical spine degenerative disc disease with bilateral cervical myelopathy, bilateral foot disabilities, allergic rhinitis, and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2021
- Citation
- 21077634
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 21077634.
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 hypertension was granted service connection effective August 10, 2022. The heart disability was granted secondary to the hypertension.,An initial rating of 30% for the heart disability was granted in May 2023 and increased to 60% since October 22, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine disability, heart disability, and rheumatoid arthritis due to procedural errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, heart disability, sleep apnea, asthma, and chronic bronchitis as new and relevant evidence was not received to reopen these claims. The Veteran did not have current diagnoses of asthma or chronic bronchitis during the appeal period.
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