Peripheral Arterial Disease Secondary to Type 2 Diabetes (VA Claims)

Peripheral Arterial Disease (VA diagnostic code 7114) is sometimes claimed as secondary to service-connected Type 2 Diabetes (code 7913) under 38 CFR 3.310. This page reports what published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions on that pairing show. It is an encyclopedic reference, not a forecast.

What published Board decisions show

Across 644 published Board (BVA) decisions in our index where peripheral arterial disease was claimed as secondary to type 2 diabetes, the outcomes broke down as follows. These are historical aggregates of decided appeals, not a prediction for any individual claim.

33%

Granted

53%

Denied

10%

Remanded

Granted 213Denied 344Remanded 65 (sent back for more development)

Counting only appeals that were granted or denied (setting aside remands), about 38% were granted. A remand is not a loss; it means the Board needed more evidence before deciding.

Source: aggregate of published BVA decisions indexed by RateMyVSO. Secondary service connection rule: 38 CFR § 3.310. Figures describe decided appeals and can change as new decisions are indexed.

Why peripheral arterial disease is claimed secondary to type 2 diabetes

Documented mechanism (plausible)

Diabetes causes peripheral vascular disease.

This rationale is generated from the data for this specific pairing, not hand-written per page. The grant and denial figures above come only from the decision data, never from the rationale text.

Whether that medical link exists in any one case is a medical question decided on that case's own evidence (the nexus).

What a secondary claim on this pairing needs

Under 38 CFR 3.310 a secondary claim turns on three elements:

A current diagnosis: a medical diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease (the secondary).
A service-connected primary: Type 2 Diabetes, already service-connected (the primary). A 0% primary still counts.
A medical nexus: a medical opinion linking the peripheral arterial disease to the type 2 diabetes, showing the primary caused or aggravated it.

See the Secondary Claim guide for the caused-versus-aggravated split, and the Nexus Letter guide for what makes the medical opinion strong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Type 2 Diabetes have to be highly rated to support a peripheral arterial disease secondary claim?

No. 38 CFR 3.310 looks at whether the service-connected Type 2 Diabetes caused or aggravated the peripheral arterial disease, not at how severe the Type 2 Diabetes rating is. Even a 0% service-connected primary can anchor a secondary claim.

What do the percentages on this page mean?

They are the historical outcomes of 644 published Board decisions on this exact pairing: 33% granted, 53% denied, 10% remanded. They describe decided appeals already on record. They do not predict what would happen in any individual case.