The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 100% rating for his service-connected heart disability is denied. The Board finds that the May 2020 Higher-Level Review decision, which continued the 60% rating, became final and there was no continuous pursuit of the April 2019 claims within one year prior to June 14, 2020 when the TDIU claim was filed. The matter of a TDIU is remanded for referral to the Director of Compensation and Pension Service.
The deciding factor: The May 2020 Higher-Level Review decision became final as there was no continuous pursuit of the April 2019 claims within one year prior to June 14, 2020 when the TDIU claim was filed. The earliest possible effective date for an increased evaluation is June 14, 2020.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, valvular heart disease, ventricular dysfunction, atypical angina
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 24, 2024
- Citation
- A24068563
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,081 · Granted: 38% (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 A24068563.
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 claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for valvular heart disease, peripheral vascular disease of the right and left legs, and hypertension were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
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