The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his ischemic heart disease was related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents and contributed substantially to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had served in Vietnam during Operation Top Dog, which involved exposure to herbicide agents. The evidence established a link between the Veteran's ischemic heart disease and his service-connected exposure to these agents, contributing to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2026
- Citation
- A26014712
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 A26014712.
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 service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and other disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since December 29, 2020. Effective from that date, the Veteran is granted TDIU and SMC housebound.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his heart condition was not related to his military service and could not be presumed due to herbicide exposure. The Board also found insufficient evidence linking his heart condition to asbestos exposure during service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to chronic suppurative otitis media, which aggravated the Veteran's pre-existing heart conditions and led to his fall resulting in death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD as secondary to myocardial infarction with CAD and ischemic cardiomyopathy due to the weight of evidence not supporting a causal link between these conditions.
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