Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for chronic bilateral hearing loss disability, chronic osteoarthritis with arthralgia, gout, and chronic hypertension are all denied as there is no evidence of these conditions during active service or within one year post-service.

The Board denied service connection for heart disease, coronary atherosclerosis and hypertension as secondary to diabetes mellitus, kidney condition and hyperlipidemia. The claims were not reopened.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including verification of his service dates and examinations to determine the onset and causation of his claimed conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to ensure that all relevant evidence is obtained and considered, including verification of in-service stressors and a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board is unable to determine whether the veteran's sarcoidosis and pulmonary hypertension were caused by his exposure to herbicides during service in Vietnam, as the evidence is inconclusive. The case will be remanded for further development.

The veteran's disabilities do not render him in need of regular aid and attendance or permanently housebound, as determined by VA examiners.

The Board found no medical evidence linking the appellant's current diagnoses of diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and hypertension to his military service. The claims for service connection were denied as there was insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between these conditions and his active duty.

The Board found that the veteran's current disability of the lumbar spine is not related to an in-service injury, and denied service connection for this condition. The issues regarding hypertension and PVD are remanded for further evaluation.

The Board found no evidence of chronic sinusitis, bilateral knee disability, postural hypertension, or back disability during service. The veteran's single episode of sinusitis was acute and resolved without chronicity. Service connection is denied for all issues.

The Board denied service connection for a left wrist condition, sinus condition, and heart condition (hypertension). The veteran's hypertension was found to be directly related to his service.

The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not related to his service and denied both claims for service connection for the cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board has determined that the veteran's PCC with HTN does not warrant an evaluation in excess of 20 percent, and his PUD warrants a 20 percent evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, colon cancer, hypertension, and sinusitis. The decision also addressed his claim seeking an increased disability rating for residuals of left clavicle fracture.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by military service and is unrelated to a service-connected disability.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for hypertension was denied as his blood pressure readings did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for alcoholism, a psychiatric disorder (including depression and a psychotic depressive reaction), hypertension, and gout. The decision found that there was no legal merit to the claim of service connection for alcoholism due to the prohibition against awarding VA compensation for disability due to alcoholism incurred during military service. For the other claims, the Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence linking these conditions to service or a service-connected condition.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection for glaucoma and hypertension due to missing service medical records.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for elevated cholesterol and hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of these conditions in service or within a year of discharge. The Board also found that diabetes mellitus type II did not cause or aggravate either condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected PTSD has aggravated his non-service connected hypertension, and thus grants service connection for hypertension.

The Board denied the petition to reopen the claim for service connection for residuals of a right eye traumatic injury, as well as claims for hypertension, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disorder (including bursitis and degenerative joint disease), hemorrhoids, special monthly pension based on the need for the regular aid and attendance of another person or housebound status, and permanent and total rating for nonservice-connected pension benefits purposes.