Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and evaluations of various disabilities, including heart disability, obstructive sleep apnea, left elbow disabilities, and scars. The claims are being remanded due to inadequate development and compliance with previous remand directives.

The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection and rating for various conditions, including chest pain, sleep apnea, bilateral knee disorder, upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, right shoulder disorder, acne, facial scars, flatfoot, hypertension, memory loss, bipolar disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including panic disorder with agoraphobia and depressive disorder), and migraines. The remand requires obtaining relevant VA treatment records, conducting additional examinations to determine the etiology of diagnosed conditions, and scheduling a new examination for migraines.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's hypertension is related to his military service and remands for further development, including obtaining missing personnel records and a medical opinion on whether the hypertension was caused by or aggravated by service.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, congestive heart failure, CAD, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, and peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity. The claims were based on direct evidence rather than presumptive exposure to herbicide agents.

The Veteran's hypertension is not rated as compensable due to blood pressure readings consistently below the criteria for a compensable rating.,Service connection for right ear hearing loss was denied because there is no evidence of noise exposure during service and post-service noise exposure is considered significant.

The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for hypertension due to a failure to obtain an examination as requested in the May 2018 remand. The Veteran's hypertension is already service-connected, and other issues have been resolved.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is granted a 40 percent rating as of August 22, 2017. The remaining issues are remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and denied the claim of service connection for hypertension. The case is being remanded to obtain a VA opinion on whether OSA is related to active service.

The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected due to ischemic heart disease, but COPD and pulmonary hypertension were found. The Board denied service connection for the causes of death.

The Board denied Dependency and Indemnity Compensation because the service-connected hypertension was not found to be a principal or contributory cause of death.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, finding it at least as likely as not caused by the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his Vietnam service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for heart disorder, hypertension, circulatory disorder, gastroparesis, and kidney disorder due to failure of the Veteran to appear for VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional treatment records and seek addendum opinions from examiners.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, left shoulder disability, and right hip disability are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations. The claim for hypertension is also being remanded as it may be related to herbicide exposure.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of skin cancer are also being remanded due to the need for additional examinations.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for macular degeneration, glaucoma, gastrointestinal disability (to include IBS), and hypertension due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.

The claim for service connection of hypertension is granted. The effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD is set at August 16, 2017.

The Veteran withdrew all of the issues on appeal, including those related to service connection for various disabilities. The Board has no further jurisdiction in these matters.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and hypertension have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension and right side suboccipital decompression due to exposure to herbicide agents, as the previous opinions were deemed insufficient. The Veteran needs to provide medical records and a new examination is required.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypothyroidism, status post thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter is granted as related to in-service exposure to ionizing radiation. The effective date of the award of service connection for eczema is set at September 25, 2017, which was within one year of the Veteran's intent to file a claim. Hearing loss and sleep apnea are remanded due to inadequate examination reports.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, type II secondary to service-connected PTSD due to incomplete records and the need for further medical examinations.