The Veteran's appeal seeking an initial compensable rating for bilateral carotid artery stenosis is dismissed. A separate 10 percent rating is granted for supraventricular arrhythmia (paroxysmal atrial fibrillation). The appeal of the VA notification letter regarding his March 2025 supplemental claim for SMC (A&A) is also dismissed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal seeking an initial compensable rating for bilateral carotid artery stenosis. The VA erroneously accepted his March 2025 supplemental claim as a valid application for SMC (A&A), which was later found to be incorrect due to the need for proper form submission.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral carotid artery stenosis, supraventricular arrhythmia (paroxysmal atrial fibrillation)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 30, 2026
- Citation
- A26040572
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 A26040572.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for ratings on four different conditions have been dismissed due to his death during the appeal process.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral carotid artery stenosis, cervical disc disease, thoracolumbar disc disease, Lewy body dementia with depression, sleep apnea, and others.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss with an effective date of September 6, 2022, and also granted service connection for coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and bilateral carotid artery stenosis. The initial rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for his service-connected arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including bilateral carotid artery stenosis and aortic stenosis, from February 28, 2020 is remanded due to procedural errors in the initial decision.
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