Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2009

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and a need for further examination regarding the Veteran's thyroid disorder and hypertension.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2.

The Board has restored the 10 percent rating for service-connected residuals of a left thumb fracture and granted service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran's anxiety disorder is not shown to meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Veteran is eligible for vocational and rehabilitation services under the provisions of Chapter 31, Title 38, United States Code beyond March 23, 2006.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not related to service or carbon tetrachloride exposure, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension is proximately due to his service-connected PTSD, and thus grants service connection for hypertension as secondary to PTSD.

The Board found that the Veteran was not a prisoner-of-war (POW) and denied service connection for the cause of death. The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 is also denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension had its onset during service and is therefore granted service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension as secondary to his service-connected residuals of left upper extremity shrapnel wound is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's substantive appeal for increased ratings for hypertension and bilateral knee disabilities was not timely filed, thus denying his claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension are presumptively service-connected due to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam, with no evidence of pre-service or post-service onset.

The Board found that the appellant's hypertension and cellulitis were not incurred or aggravated by service, nor are they proximately due to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. As such, the claims for service connection on a secondary basis were denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted for arthritis of the left hip, right hip, lumbar spine, myositis, or hypertension.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hypertension, peripheral neuropathy, cardiovascular heart disease, vitiligo, and erectile dysfunction, all secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The appeal was not about service connection at all.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him incapable of securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's hypertension is not productive of diastolic pressure predominantly 110 or more, or systolic pressure predominantly 200 or more.,Diabetes mellitus, type II and bilateral knee disorder were not shown in service or for many years thereafter; they are not related to service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current hypertension is not related to service and denies the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are of such severity as to preclude him from securing and following some form of substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and work experience, warranting a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further development, including the issuance of a rating decision for his service-connected hypertension and readjudication of his TDIU issue.