The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for CAD and hypertension, which are secondary to SJS, due to insufficient opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional medical opinions addressing the relationship between the Veteran's current diagnoses and his service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiners did not provide adequate opinions on the etiology of CAD and hypertension as secondary to SJS, due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents in Korea and insufficient discussion of risk factors for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Hypertension, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26036417
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 A26036417.
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 claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance from June 1, 2011, to May 24, 2017, finding that his need for regular aid and attendance was not established during this period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's current coronary artery disease with acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction with coronary stent is being remanded for further evaluation due to the lack of a medical nexus between his service-connected hypertension and his heart condition.
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