The Board has remanded the claims for sleep apnea and cardiac disability due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches may be related to her obstructive sleep apnea, but a secondary service connection is not established. For her cardiac disability, there is insufficient evidence to establish its onset during service or relate it to any in-service symptoms.
The deciding factor: The Board found the VA examination inadequate as it did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea was caused by or aggravated by her service-connected migraine headaches and failed to consider all relevant medical evidence, including the Veteran's reports of worsening heart palpitations.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea (sleep apnea), cardiac disability, to include mitral valve prolapse
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2024
- Citation
- A24046181
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 A24046181.
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 Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea and asbestosis with COPD due to duty to assist errors, inadequate examinations, and other procedural issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for obstructive sleep apnea, left hip pain, and right foot pain due to potential errors in pre-decisional duty to assist. The Veteran is presumed sound at the time of her entrance into active service, so any pre-existing conditions must be disregarded. An addendum opinion is needed regarding whether these conditions are related to service or service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current sleep apnea disability is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected chronic sinusitis, and thus grants entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to chronic sinusitis.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial 10 percent rating for migraines is granted, while a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. Service connection is granted for pes planus, but not for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, bilateral knee pain, hypertension, GERD, or sleep apnea and generalized anxiety disorder.
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