Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2000

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of renal disease with proteinuria and hypertension, finding that her original claim was abandoned due to her failure to respond to notification of a VA examination scheduled in 1987. The effective date remains January 27, 1998.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for hypertension, currently rated at 10 percent, is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 7101.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for hypertension, gastritis, asthmatic bronchitis, and atypical psychosis. The RO assigned noncompensable evaluations to these conditions in June 1993.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias to his service-connected PTSD, thus denying both secondary service connection claims.

The Board has granted service connection for heart disorder and left inguinal hernia repair, but denied a higher rating for hiatal hernia with reflux. The veteran's claim is well-grounded.

The Board has granted a 100 percent disability rating for the veteran's diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy, and denied an increased disability rating for his hypertension.

The veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is well grounded. The claims for athletes foot and residuals of an injury to the left eye are not well grounded. The veteran's claim for increased rating for residuals of a fracture to the left shoulder with traumatic arthritis has been granted, resulting in a 20% evaluation.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of injury to the right arm, hypertension, depression, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and residuals of a back injury as they are not well-grounded.

The Board is unable to determine if the veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed to his death. The claim will be remanded for further development, including obtaining VA hospital records and clarifying the VA physician's opinion regarding the role of PTSD in the cause of death.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities have been denied.,Service connection has not been established for post-traumatic stress disorder or hypertension.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral flat feet, hypertension, and degenerative diskopathy at L5-S1 with hypertrophic spurring bodies at L4 and L5 due to lack of well-grounded evidence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection are not well-grounded and have therefore been denied.

The Board has denied the claims for service connection for cardiovascular disease and bronchitis as they are not well grounded. The claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus is well grounded, but further development is needed to determine its etiology.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension was incurred during his military service, and thus granted service connection for this condition.

The veteran's nonservice-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.

The veteran's hypertension is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board found no evidence to support a higher rating based on current medical records.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for ocular hypertension and glaucoma, as well as residuals of a left fifth finger dislocation, are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions began during his period of honorable service or are otherwise related to military service.

The Board dismissed the appeal for an earlier effective date for service connection due to a lack of timely submission of a substantive appeal.

The Board found that the veteran's claim of service connection for cardiovascular disease (including hypertension) as secondary to PTSD was not well grounded, and thus denied it. The TDIU issue is remanded for further development.

The veteran's claims of service connection for a psychiatric disorder and hypertension are granted. The initial rating for the scar from a left inguinal hernia repair is assigned as 0 percent.