Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2024

The Veteran's heart disability, including stable angina with heart block cardiomyopathy and cardiac pacemaker, was granted as secondary to hypertension. The effective date for this service connection is set at April 10, 2017.

The Veteran's service connection claims for hypertension, sleep apnea, and esophagus disability are granted. The Board instructed the AOJ to provide a new examination for the esophagus disability claim.

The Veteran's hypertension, which required continuous medication for control since at least January 2010, is granted a 10 percent initial disability rating from August 10, 2022.

The Veteran's hypertension was rated as noncompensable under the criteria for Hypertensive vascular disease (hypertension and isolated systolic hypertension). The Board denied a compensable rating due to lack of evidence showing diastolic blood pressure predominantly 100 or more, or systolic blood pressure predominantly 160 or more.

The Veteran's hypertension and prostate cancer are granted pursuant to the PACT Act.,The remaining claims for PTSD, erectile dysfunction, and service connection on a basis other than the PACT Act are remanded.

The Veteran's claimed psychiatric disability, change in bowel pattern, hypertension, long head of biceps rupture, numbness of bilateral arms, right shoulder disability, and osteoarthritis are all denied. The Veteran's trigeminal neuralgia is also denied as his rating remains at 10 percent.

The Veteran's death was caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is not service-connected. The Board found that his other service-connected conditions did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hypertension was denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a 10% rating under DC 7101, which requires diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more or systolic pressure predominantly 160 or more.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, including as secondary to hypertension, must be remanded due to a lack of an adequate medical opinion regarding whether the sleep apnea is aggravated by his service-connected hypertension.

The Veteran's asthma, allergic rhinitis, bronchitis, bilateral plantar fasciitis, cardiovascular disease, left shoulder condition, scars, kidney condition, TBI residuals, diabetes mellitus type II, diverticulitis, gastritis, and hypertension are remanded due to incomplete service records.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypertension and entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate VA medical opinions and incomplete evidence.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for tinnitus was denied.,Service connection for anxiety, PTSD, and a bilateral lower leg condition were also denied. The hypertension and bilateral lower leg condition claims are remanded.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, bilateral wrist condition, and bilateral foot pes planus are all granted as service-connected. The eating disorder claim is denied.

The Board dismissed the appeals for effective dates prior to August 10, 2022 for service connection of hypertension, hypertensive heart disease with ventricular heart disease (heart disability), and chronic kidney disease. The appeal was also dismissed regarding entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits and TDIU.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development regarding the Veteran's service connection claims for hypertension and Parkinson's disease, as they are presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides. The AOJ needs to determine which ship the Veteran was aboard on his return trip home from Okinawa to California between October 7, 1962, and October 28, 1962, and whether that ship transited Guam or its territorial waters.

The appeal is dismissed because the Veteran submitted a VA Form 10182 with an impermissible concurrent election, and there was no jurisdictional issue. The hypertension issue is already on appeal to the Board.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for hypertension was denied, and the issue of service connection for skin cancer is remanded.,The Board found that the Veteran's hypertension did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on his blood pressure readings.

The Veteran's hypertension is rated at 10 percent, but the Board found that his blood pressure readings did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as they were consistently below the systolic and diastolic pressure readings required for a 20 percent rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding no current diagnosis of hypertension and insufficient evidence to establish a link between the condition and service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's hypertension is related to service, not just under the PACT Act.