Citation Nr: 22012296
Decision Date: 03/03/22	Archive Date: 03/03/22

DOCKET NO. 17-52 546
DATE: March 3, 2022

REMANDED

The claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for coronary artery disease (CAD), for the period on appeal from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010, to include consideration of an extraschedular rating under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1), is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from September 1968 to September 1971.  The matter is on appeal before the Board from an April 2015 rating decision.  In a November 2019 Board decision, the Veteran was denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for CAD for the period on appeal from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010, to include consideration of an extraschedular rating under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1).  The Veteran appealed the November 2019 Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court or CAVC), which vacated the Board decision in September 2021, returning it for development consistent with a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR).  

In the November 2019 JMR, the parties agreed that the Board provided inadequate reasons and bases regarding the sufficiency of the evidence utilized to rate the Veteran's CAD for the period from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010.  It was noted that in the Board decision, the Board determined that there was no evidence of cardiac hypertrophy, dilatation, or congestive heart failure.  The parties to the JMR concluded that the only way the Board could have rated the Veteran's CAD was based upon METs measurements.  However, review of the evidence utilized in the Board's decision failed to show that any METs levels had been estimated or reported following clinical testing.  Thus, the Court found it to be unclear how the Board determined whether the Veteran's METs were greater or lower than 7.

A review of the Veteran's record for the period on appeal from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010, does not show any evidence of findings pertaining to METs levels.  As such, a remand is warranted to obtain a VA medical opinion to estimate the Veteran's METs during the period on appeal from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain a VA medical opinion to determine the Veteran's METs level, based upon his CAD, for the period from March 5, 2007 to April 13, 2010.  If a physical examination is necessary to answer the Board's question, one should be scheduled.  If the METs cannot be estimated, it should be specifically be explained why. 

In providing the opinion, the examiner should review the September 2021 Joint motion for remand (JMR) (CAVC Decision dated 09/28/2021 p. 37) to understand what is being asked for.

 

 

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Lutgens-Staley, 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.