BVA decisions by condition
Heart disability: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a heart disability issue in 573 decisions. It granted the heart disability issue in 1.6% of them, below the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 7.5%, and remanded it in 85.3%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 17.3% were granted.
Decisions
573
2017–2026
Granted
1.6%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
17.3%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
85.3%
Denied: 7.5%
Heart disability outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 68 | 5.9% | 11.8% | 75.0% | 7.4% |
| 2019 | 62 | 3.2% | 6.5% | 87.1% | 3.2% |
| 2020 | 59 | 0.0% | 1.7% | 93.2% | 5.1% |
| 2021 | 67 | 1.5% | 10.4% | 86.6% | 1.5% |
| 2022 | 86 | 1.2% | 8.1% | 83.7% | 7.0% |
| 2023 | 67 | 0.0% | 7.5% | 88.1% | 4.5% |
| 2024 | 62 | 0.0% | 3.2% | 91.9% | 4.8% |
| 2025 | 50 | 2.0% | 8.0% | 86.0% | 4.0% |
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 Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome.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 heart disability decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the heart disability 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private medical opinion | 245 | 29.2% | 7.1% | +22.0 pts |
| Positive nexus opinion | 168 | 30.0% | 14.3% | +15.7 pts |
| Combat service | 49 | 25.0% | 15.9% | +9.1 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 101 | 14.3% | 17.8% | −3.5 pts |
| Lay statement | 485 | 10.3% | 38.5% | −28.2 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 44.4% of the decisions that granted heart disability.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 33.3% of grants and 18.6% 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 heart disability 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfavorable VA exam | 450 | 19.4% | 12.5% | +6.9 pts |
| Negative nexus opinion | 335 | 16.0% | 18.5% | −2.5 pts |
Recent heart disability decisions
Granted
Denied
Rules that apply to heart disability 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 heart disability 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 heart disability 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.