Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions due to incomplete information and records. The Veteran is required to provide copies of his Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits records.

The Veteran's diabetes is granted as presumptively due to herbicide agent exposure. The hypertension and psychiatric disorders are remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's appeals for COPD, sleep apnea secondary to CAD, hypertension secondary to CAD, bilateral hearing loss, and CAD are being remanded due to the Veteran requesting to participate in VA’s test program RAMP. The case will be returned to VBA for a RAMP rating decision.

The Board has dismissed the appeals as the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hypertension, bilateral cataracts, OSA, TBI with dementia, and peripheral neuropathy are all denied. The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of in-service exposure to herbicide agents or a nexus between these conditions and active duty service.

The Veteran's service records do not show any diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, and his current condition is not considered to be due to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness.,His sleep disorder was diagnosed post-service and is not considered to be related to his military service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's hypertension is not service connected, but due to further review and evidence collection, the case will be sent back for a new examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bunionectomy residuals of the left and right feet with DJD and chronic pain, as well as hypertension, were denied. The maximum schedular rating authorized under the applicable diagnostic codes was already in place.

The Veteran's depression is granted as secondary to her service-connected obstructive sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as new and material evidence was not received to reopen the claims. The Board found that the evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to exposure to herbicide agents, including for left arm disability, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, transverse myelitis, bowel dysfunction, and neurogenic bladder. The claims are being reviewed as presumptive based on herbicide agent exposure.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders, including as secondary to service-connected bilateral shoulder disabilities.

The Board has remanded two issues: service connection for hypertension and service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities. The Veteran's hypertension is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents or his service-connected diabetes mellitus, but a VA examination is needed to determine if it is at least as likely as not that the hypertension began during active service, was noted during service with continuity of symptomatology since service, or is proximately due to service-connected diabetes mellitus. The same applies for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities.

The Veteran's death was caused by a motor vehicle accident, and the appellant contends that his service-connected seizure disorder contributed to the accident. The Board has remanded for an addendum opinion from a VA physician regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s cause of death.

The Board has granted service connection for unspecified depressive disorder and an unspecified headache disorder, but denied service connection for gastritis, glaucoma, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an enlarged prostate, bilateral lower extremity neuropathy, and hypertension are denied. The case is remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension, bilateral ankle disability, bilateral knee disability, low back disability, erectile dysfunction (secondary to PTSD), and headaches (secondary to PTSD) are not related to service. The claims for these conditions have been remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claim for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if any diagnosed cardiovascular disability is related to in-service exposure to commercial herbicides, as the Veteran contends.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for a heart disability was denied due to lack of new and material evidence. His hypertension claim, however, was granted as new and material evidence has been received.,The Veteran's PFB, sleep apnea, and TDIU claims are remanded as the Board finds that VA examinations are needed to determine their etiology.