The Veteran's hypertensive heart disease is granted as secondary to his service-connected hypertension. The issue of service connection for a heart disability, other than hypertensive heart disease, is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion regarding whether the nonservice connected heart failure/heart disability is aggravated by the service-connected hypertension.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive heart disease, heart disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2023
- Citation
- A23034766
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 A23034766.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and other conditions, rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment prior to July 21, 2025.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertensive heart disease as secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
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