The Board remands the claims for a higher initial rating for left ventricular hypertrophy and special monthly compensation (SMC) due to an inadequate pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: The record lacks necessary information regarding the frequency, duration, and cause of the Veteran's flares, as well as the impact on his METs level during flares, which are critical for adjudicating the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- left ventricular hypertrophy, supraventricular arrhythmia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25054740
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for various service-connected conditions, except for a few granted evaluations.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia, chronic paronychia, psoriasis and rosacea (claimed as skin condition), pulmonary nodules, and valvular heart disease.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease with congestive heart failure, supraventricular arrhythmia, valvular heart disease, and left ventricular assist device as the evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred during or caused by active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for atrial fibrillation, supraventricular arrhythmia, left ventricular hypertrophy, and bilateral hearing loss as the conditions were not incurred during or attributable to active service.
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