BVA decisions by condition
Cardiomyopathy: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a cardiomyopathy issue in 1,624 decisions. It granted the cardiomyopathy issue in 16.2% of them, below the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 23.8%, and remanded it in 58.3%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 40.5% were granted.
Decisions
1,624
2017–2026
Granted
16.2%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
40.5%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
58.3%
Denied: 23.8%
Cardiomyopathy outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 112 | 8.9% | 34.8% | 53.6% | 2.7% |
| 2018 | 202 | 11.4% | 27.2% | 57.9% | 3.5% |
| 2019 | 187 | 9.6% | 25.7% | 63.6% | 1.1% |
| 2020 | 164 | 13.4% | 37.2% | 48.8% | 0.6% |
| 2021 | 173 | 15.0% | 20.2% | 62.4% | 2.3% |
| 2022 | 185 | 11.9% | 22.7% | 63.2% | 2.2% |
| 2023 | 162 | 19.8% | 19.1% | 59.9% | 1.2% |
| 2024 | 192 | 18.8% | 10.9% | 67.7% | 2.6% |
| 2025 | 184 | 26.6% | 21.7% | 51.1% | 0.5% |
| 2026 | 82 | 34.1% | 18.3% | 45.1% | 2.4% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied cardiomyopathy decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the cardiomyopathy issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 293 | 79.7% | 22.2% | +57.5 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 182 | 76.2% | 31.6% | +44.6 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 669 | 57.6% | 27.8% | +29.8 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 114 | 65.6% | 37.8% | +27.8 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 589 | 51.1% | 31.1% | +20.0 pts |
| Combat service | 75 | 42.4% | 40.4% | +2.0 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,132 | 32.5% | 65.6% | −33.1 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 73.0% of the decisions that granted cardiomyopathy.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 20.5% of grants and 9.1% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often cardiomyopathy was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 941 | 35.4% | 50.5% | −15.1 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 1,166 | 36.3% | 56.7% | −20.4 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied cardiomyopathy
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established32
- Caused by the service-connected disability27
- Service connection established16
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability6
- Criteria for service connection met4
- No evidence to the contrary3
- Cardiomyopathy diagnosed3
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service2
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service61
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis59
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim55
- Service records negative or silent48
- No continuity of symptomatology17
- Current diagnosis established13
- No current diagnosis10
- Continuity of symptomatology since service6
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent cardiomyopathy decisions
Granted
Diagnosis of CHF with bradycardia and pacemaker established.; Veteran is service-connected for hypertension.; VA examiner diagnosed CHF from hypertension and found TERA risks outweighed.
Current disability established (cardiomyopathy, CHF, heart transplant); Service-connected PTSD established; Private medical opinion from Dr. M.S. found PTSD caused CAD, which caused CHF; Opinion supported by medical literature linking anxiety/PTSD to CAD risk; Board found opinion persuasive despite minor discrepancy in family history
Favorable private medical opinion linking heart disability to in-service hypertension; In-service hypertension documented; Evidence in equipoise, benefit of doubt applied
Denied
No in-service heart issues documented; Post-service records did not document heart failure; Lay opinion on secondary causation incompetent
No in-service onset or treatment for CHF/atrial fibrillation/AICD; Private opinion lacked probative value due to timeline discrepancy; March 2025 VA examiner could not establish baseline severity for aggravation claim; May 2025 VA examiner found less likely than not related to service
No evidence of in-service incurrence; Private opinion lacked probative value (correlational, speculative); Weight gain not linked to service-connected disabilities
Rules that apply to cardiomyopathy claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your cardiomyopathy case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a cardiomyopathy issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.