The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and hypertensive heart disease due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service. The Board found that there was no evidence of a current disability related to these conditions and that any such disabilities were less likely than not caused by or aggravated by the Veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the Veteran does not have a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, which is required for secondary service connection. The examiner also found no relationship between valvular heart disease and coronary artery disease.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease, congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2022
- Citation
- 22016514
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 22016514.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for valvular heart disease, peripheral vascular disease of the right and left legs, and hypertension were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
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