The Veteran's heart disability, including coronary artery disease and old myocardial infarction, is not found to be secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's heart conditions were more likely due to hyperlipidemia rather than his service-connected major depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease status post coronary artery bypass graft, old myocardial infarction
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2024
- Citation
- A24071348
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 275 · Granted: 33% (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 A24071348.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for diabetes mellitus, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD), obstructive sleep apnea, headaches, old myocardial infarction, and stable angina due to insufficient evidence or lack of proper examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates and increased ratings has been withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disability and heart surgery scar was granted with an effective date of May 29, 2013. The rating assigned is 60% for the heart disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease, including atherosclerotic heart disease of the coronary artery and old myocardial infarction, on a presumptive basis due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.
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