The Veteran's initial claim for service connection for cardiomegaly was granted, but the current appeal is about whether a higher rating should be assigned. The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher than 30 percent rating for his cardiomegaly as of November 14, 2021.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show a workload of 5.0 METs or less resulting in heart failure symptoms as required by the new criteria effective November 14, 2021.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiomegaly, Valvular heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2024
- Citation
- 24000123
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 352 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24000123.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for hypertension (HTN) and has remanded the issues of service connection for cardiomegaly and hypertensive heart disease.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted an earlier effective date of January 9, 2023 for a 70% evaluation for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and for individual unemployability.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 100 percent rating for the Veteran's coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease with a presence of coronary stent since February 4, 2022, based on workload of 3.0 METs or less resulting in heart failure symptoms.
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