Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2012

The Veteran's psychiatric disorder, including his adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, is currently rated at 30 percent under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. This rating reflects occupational and social impairment due to occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.

The Board denied a rating greater than 10 percent for hypertension and dismissed the claim of an increased rating for sinusitis.

The Board found that the Veteran's income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for all periods considered, thus denying his claim for NSC pension benefits.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to insufficient detail in a previous VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's hypertension.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection was denied. The maximum schedular rating available for tinnitus is 10 percent, which the Veteran already receives.

The Veteran's hypertension was not found to be related to his military service or secondary to his service-connected PTSD. The Board determined that the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection.

The Board found that the appellant's current hypertension did not have its onset during service or within one year of separation, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to a previous opinion rendered by the same VA examiner who had previously examined the Veteran. The claim of service connection for hypertension, including as secondary to diabetes mellitus, is being reconsidered.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and heart disease, both secondary to PTSD, are being remanded for additional development.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension, a digestive disorder (GERD), and a right foot condition. The low back condition was found to be not aggravated by service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and initial compensable evaluations, as well as his reopenings of service connection claims. The decision also noted that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen some of these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and multi-joint arthritis as presumptively related to exposure to herbicides during service. The Veteran's diabetes mellitus is separately rated.

The Board has found that the Veteran's hearing loss disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and is unrelated to a disease or injury of service origin. The claims for service connection for asthma, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity (secondary to diabetes), and peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity are denied.

The Veteran's hypertension is not service-connected as it did not manifest during or within one year after service, and there is no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and his service-connected pulmonary coccidiodomycosis.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and material evidence. The medical opinion supports a finding that exposure during active duty caused an immunological response leading to sarcoidosis, which contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.

The Board found that the Veteran's hypertension is not related to service or any other disorder secondary to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran withdrew her appeals for the claims of service connection for hypertension, residuals of bilateral lower extremity stress fractures, and painful joints (hips, shoulders, and others), also claimed as unspecified joint pain.

The Veteran's PTSD is now service-connected and rated at 100% effective October 10, 2006. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether his hypertension caused his kidney disease. Service connection for bilateral kidney disease status post kidney transplant with end-stage kidney failure is granted secondary to hypertension.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for further development regarding the Veteran's alleged active duty training periods and their impact on his hypertension claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence received after the last Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), and for further development including a VA examination.