The Veteran's heart disabilities, including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, implanted cardiac pacemaker, valvular heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, and atrial fibrillation associated with herbicide exposure, are granted an initial evaluation of 60 percent. The effective date is not established as the claim was filed after August 18, 2022.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's heart disabilities more nearly approximate a workload of 3.1-5.0 METs resulting in symptoms such as breathlessness and palpitations at rest and upon exertion, warranting a 60 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 7005.
- Claimed conditions
- atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, implanted cardiac pacemaker, valvular heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, atriial fibrillation
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- A24072519
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 926 · 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 A24072519.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for atrial fibrillation, benign prostatic hypertrophy with outflow obstruction, congestive heart failure, and hypertension due to inadequate VA opinions. The Veteran's exposure during service is conceded to include asbestos and gas chamber exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and colon cancer are being evaluated for their relationship to toxic exposure during service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and coronary artery disease was dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his claim.
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