Citation Nr: 21074058 Decision Date: 12/14/21 Archive Date: 12/14/21 DOCKET NO. 16-35 455A DATE: December 14, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease, to include as due to exposure to herbicides, is granted. Entitlement to service connection for ocular hypertension, secondary to ischemic heart disease, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, diagnosed as coronary artery disease. 2. The Veteran's ocular hypertension is due to his now service-connected ischemic heart disease. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria to establish entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease on a presumptive basis, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for service connection for ocular hypertension have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§1110, 5107; 38C.F.R. §§3.102, 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from January 1971 to January 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2014 and January 2016 rating decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Los Angeles, California. In April 2019, the Board remanded the claims to determine whether the Veteran had qualifying service aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk within the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam. Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (en banc) (holding that "Service in the Republic of Vietnam" includes service on the landmass, inland waterways and in the territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles from the shores of that nation). Service Connection Service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge from service when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Generally, to prove service connection, there must be competent, credible evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury, and (3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. See, e.g., Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Under 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f), a claimant, who, during active service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that he was not exposed to any such agent during that service. If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active service, certain diseases, to include ischemic heart disease, shall be service connected even though there is no record of such disease during service. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(e). 1. Entitlement to service connection for ischemic heart disease The Veteran has been diagnosed with ischemic heart disease. See September 2021 VA Examination. The first element of service connection has been met. The Board finds that the Veteran has established the second requirement for service connection, which is evidence of an in-service incurrence, injury, or disease. Although the Veteran's diagnoses for ischemic heart disease did not manifest until after service, he contends that these disabilities are related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, including Agent Orange, while stationed on the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The RO conceded exposure to herbicide agents based on the Veteran's nautical service in the offshore eligible waters as defined in the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, Public Law 116-23. See October 2020 VA Memorandum. The Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents in service on a facts-found basis. As he is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents, and ischemic heart disease is among the diseases presumed to be associated with such exposure, service connection is warranted on a presumptive basis. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). 2. Entitlement to service connection for ocular hypertension Service connection on a secondary basis is merited if there is (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of a service-connected disability; and (3) medical evidence establishing a nexus (i.e., link) between the service-connected disability and the current disability. Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998). The Veteran has been diagnosed with ocular hypertension. See April 2021 VA Examination. The Veteran is service-connected herein for ischemic heart disease. In the April 2021 VA examination, the examiner found that the Veteran's ocular hypertension was at least as likely as not as due to the Veteran's ischemic heart disease. Id. As the Veteran's ocular hypertension meets all three elements of secondary service connection, service connection is warranted on a secondary basis. Kelly A. Gastoukian Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Kelsey Love, Associate Counsel 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.