The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for coronary artery disease and an earlier effective date for total disability rating for individual unemployability due to his mood disorder with depressive features. The issues are related as they both involve his service-connected mood disorder.
The deciding factor: The November 2019 VA examiner provided a negative opinion regarding direct causation of CAD, but found that the Veteran's mood disorder with depressive features likely aggravated his CAD.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease (CAD), mood disorder with depressive features
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2023
- Citation
- 23018629
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 23018629.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, varicose veins, and irritable bowel syndrome are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for hypertension and coronary artery disease (CAD) as both issues were previously decided by the Board on a presumptive basis under the PACT Act, which precludes an earlier effective date.
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