The Board denied service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not contribute to his myocardial infarction and pulse electrical activity failure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's service-connected asthma and gout did not contribute to his myocardial infarction and pulse electrical activity failure. The Board gave greater weight to this opinion over a private provider's opinion, which suggested hypertension and chronic kidney disease contributed substantially to the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Myocardial infarction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25044913
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 remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a lack of sufficient evidence addressing all contentions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a cardiovascular disability, secondary to hypertension, but denied a compensable rating and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating higher than 60 percent for the Veteran's heart disabilities and granted service connection for major vascular neurocognitive disorder, but denied special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(l).
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded due to incomplete research on potential herbicide exposure and missing mental health records.
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