Citation Nr: 20007258 Decision Date: 01/28/20 Archive Date: 01/28/20 DOCKET NO. 12-11 627 DATE: January 28, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension (HTN) (also claimed as ischemic heart disease (IHD)) due to herbicide exposure is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active Naval service from June 1965 to May 1969. He died in November 2013, see 02/20/2014 Death Certificate, and the appellant is his surviving spouse. She has been duly Substituted in his stead. See 10/05/2017 Correspondence. Entitlement to service connection for CAD and HTN (also claimed as IHD) due to herbicide agents exposure is remanded. The Veteran was assigned to the USS Larson (DD 830) during his service. The history of the vessel notes that it docked at Da Nang Harbor from October 1-6, 1966. See 03/19/2010 Correspondence, P. 14; 04/05/2010 VA 21-3101, 1st Entry. Hence, per Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (en banc), and the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, the salient issue in this appeal is now whether the Veteran in fact was diagnosed with CAD/IHD prior to his death. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). The medical evidence of record, including a September 2004 treatment report from Surprise Valley Healthcare, notes that the Veteran had a history of CAD, which is not in fact a firm diagnosis. Nonetheless, there are reports of diagnostic tests conducted on the Veteran prior to his death which require review and interpretation by a medical professional. See Colvin v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 171, 172 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: The Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) shall send the file to an appropriate clinician for a medical review. Ask the reviewer to opine whether there is at least a 50 percent probability that the Veteran was diagnosed with, or in fact had, CAD/IHD prior to his death. The examiner must provide a full rationale/explanation for the opinion rendered. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board W. T. Snyder The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.