The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's heart disability is related to service. The examiner must determine if any currently diagnosed disabilities are congenital defects or diseases and, if so, whether they were aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not specify whether pectus excavatum is a congenital defect or disease, which is necessary for determining the nature of the Veteran's heart disability and its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- right axis deviation, pectus excavatum
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24029748
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 A24029748.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected pectus excavatum is being remanded due to the need for additional records and the duty to assist.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's private treatment records and to schedule him for a DRO hearing. The claims are being remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition, to include as secondary to service-connected hypertension. The case is being returned for further development and an additional VA opinion.
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