The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for rheumatic heart disease, deformity of aortic valve, and aortic insufficiency was denied as there is no evidence of any prior claims or intent to file such claims before May 7, 2009.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not submit an informal claim or express intent to apply for service connection for the conditions before May 7, 2009.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease, deformity of aortic valve, aortic insufficiency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2022
- Citation
- 22006516
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 22006516.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the proposed reduction of his rating for hypertensive heart disease, including valvular heart disease and aortic insufficiency.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for prostate cancer with urinary incontinence, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), aortic insufficiency, and urothelial carcinoma (bladder cancer) as the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatic heart disease was granted. The claim for hypertensive vascular disease was remanded.
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