BVA decisions by condition
Ischemic heart disease: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a ischemic heart disease issue in 1,037 decisions. It granted the ischemic heart disease issue in 37.6% of them, above the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 22.5%, and remanded it in 37.3%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 62.6% were granted.
Decisions
1,037
2017–2026
Granted
37.6%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
62.6%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
37.3%
Denied: 22.5%
Ischemic heart disease outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 127 | 40.9% | 29.1% | 26.8% | 3.1% |
| 2018 | 295 | 38.0% | 26.4% | 32.5% | 3.1% |
| 2019 | 169 | 36.1% | 24.3% | 37.3% | 2.4% |
| 2020 | 122 | 32.0% | 21.3% | 45.1% | 1.6% |
| 2021 | 71 | 29.6% | 18.3% | 43.7% | 8.5% |
| 2022 | 80 | 43.8% | 12.5% | 41.3% | 2.5% |
| 2023 | 80 | 40.0% | 18.8% | 37.5% | 3.8% |
| 2024 | 59 | 33.9% | 13.6% | 49.2% | 3.4% |
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 Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome.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 ischemic heart disease decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the ischemic heart disease 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorable VA exam | 124 | 85.1% | 59.0% | +26.1 pts |
| Buddy statement | 82 | 80.7% | 60.8% | +19.9 pts |
| Positive nexus opinion | 118 | 73.0% | 61.4% | +11.6 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 49 | 72.0% | 62.2% | +9.8 pts |
| Combat service | 129 | 68.1% | 61.9% | +6.2 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 352 | 60.8% | 63.5% | −2.8 pts |
| Lay statement | 774 | 60.2% | 69.9% | −9.7 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 149 | 53.8% | 64.2% | −10.4 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 74.4% of the decisions that granted ischemic heart disease.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 41.3% of grants and 10.7% 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 ischemic heart disease 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 | 304 | 43.9% | 69.3% | −25.4 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 550 | 48.1% | 77.0% | −28.9 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied ischemic heart disease
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established62
- Ischemic heart disease is a presumptive condition for herbicide exposure15
- Veteran served in thailand during vietnam era11
- Ischemic heart disease is a presumptive condition under 38 c.f.r. § 3.309(e)10
- Presumed exposure to herbicide agents9
- Ischemic heart disease is presumptively linked to herbicide exposure9
- Veteran diagnosed with ischemic heart disease9
- Presumption of herbicide exposure applies8
Most common reasons in denials
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim28
- No current diagnosis24
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis22
- Service records negative or silent14
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service11
- Current diagnosis established8
- Continuity of symptomatology since service6
- No evidence of herbicide exposure3
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 ischemic heart disease decisions
Granted
Veteran served in American Samoa during the presumptive period for herbicide exposure.; PACT Act establishes presumption of herbicide exposure in American Samoa.; Veteran has a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.; Weight of evidence favors the claim.
Presumptive service connection for ischemic heart disease met; In-service exposure to herbicide agents conceded; Benefit of the doubt applied
Current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.; Presumptive association with herbicide exposure under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).; Lay statements regarding exposure to barrels at Subic Bay were found credible and corroborated.
Denied
Workload capacity estimated at 5-7 METs.; No cardiac dilation, congestive heart failure, or LVEF < 50%.; VA medical opinions found more probative than lay evidence.
Evidence persuasively against finding of exposure to tactical herbicide agents in service.; No etiological link found between heart conditions and toxic exposures.; Veteran's non-TERA risk factors (hypertension, obesity, smoking, age) outweigh TERA risk factors.
Evidence did not meet criteria for 60% or 100% rating; METs level and ejection fraction did not meet higher rating thresholds; Echocardiogram considered gold standard for IHD evaluation
Rules that apply to ischemic heart disease 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 ischemic heart disease 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 ischemic heart disease 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.