The Board denied service connection for restrictive pericarditis, finding no evidence of a direct or secondary relationship to the Veteran's military service or his service-connected diabetes and ischemic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found that there was no medical literature supporting a link between herbicide exposure and pericarditis, and that the Veteran's pericarditis was likely viral in nature. Additionally, there was no evidence of aggravation by his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- restrictive pericarditis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2025
- Citation
- 25007433
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
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