The Board grants the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date of January 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for heart disabilities based on direct service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion established a direct relationship between the Veteran's heart disabilities and toxic exposure during active service, allowing for an effective date back to the date of claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease, Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction, Congestive heart failure, Cardiomyopathy with automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25034037
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 A25034037.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted SMC at the (r)(1) rate due to his service-connected major depressive disorder and congestive heart failure, which require regular aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's heart conditions may be related to his service-connected sleep apnea and/or generalized anxiety disorder, but further examination is needed to determine causation.
- Granted
The Veteran's coronary artery disease (CAD) is related to his service-connected hypertension, and the Board has granted service connection for CAD as secondary to hypertension.
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