The Board granted service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease (CAD) with bypass graft as secondary to type II diabetes mellitus, and granted a 20 percent disability rating from July 15, 2021 through February 15, 2023 for certain diabetic neuropathies, while denying earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's coronary artery disease, status post CABG is aggravated by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus and whether the Veteran's hypertensive heart disease is caused by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic heart disease (CAD) with bypass graft, Coronary artery disease, status post CABG, Hypertensive heart disease, Comedones of the back and buttocks, Right inguinal hernia scar, Scar; distal PIP right thumb (right thumb scar), Somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain (previously rated as panic disorder without agoraphobia)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25110266
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,421 · Granted: 31% (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 A25110266.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's heart conditions and PTSD were rated at their highest levels (100% for heart conditions, 70% for PTSD) effective December 11, 2019. Additionally, the Veteran was granted benefits related to his disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for hypertension (HTN) and has remanded the issues of service connection for cardiomegaly and hypertensive heart disease.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and OSA but denied service connection for hypertension, hypertensive heart disease, right hip pain (secondary to knee disabilities), left ankle disability, and right ankle disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, primarily migraines with tension headaches, rendered him unemployable from July 25, 2023, and he is eligible for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits starting the same date. He also qualifies for special monthly compensation based on housebound status as of October 9, 2023.
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