Hypertension (high blood pressure) Board decisions

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased rating claims due to withdrawal of his appeal by the Veteran. The appeals were not related to service connection, but rather to issues regarding increased ratings.

The Veteran's lung condition and hypertension due to herbicide exposure are granted, but his bilateral hearing loss and PTSD claims for initial ratings remain denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, as it is unclear whether his condition had its onset in service or is related to his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's hypertension disability is being remanded for an updated VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between hypertension and service-connected atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicide agents during military service.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction requires an oral hypoglycemic agent and restricted diet but not regulation of activities.,The Veteran’s hypertension requires continuous medication.,Right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is manifested by mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve.,Left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is manifested by mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve.,For the entire rating period on appeal, the Veteran's PTSD is productive of occupational and social impairment with difficulties in most areas due to symptoms such as disturbance of mood and motivation, irritability, anxiety, sleep impairment, and depression; total occupational and social impairment was not shown.,The claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD was granted following an application to reopen which was received by the RO on December 1, 2009.,The Veteran was granted service connection for coronary artery disease, status-post angioplasty and aortocoronary bypass, following a claim of entitlement to service connection which was received by the RO on September 6, 2007.

The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses and ambulance transportation services incurred during a non-VA hospitalization at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital from November 28, 2016 through December 2, 2016 were denied as the claims were not filed within 90 days of discharge.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hypertension and stroke residuals due to his failure to report for VA examinations without good cause.,Service connection is being remanded as there was no current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, and the evidence does not show a compensable degree of disability within one year of separation from service.

The Veteran's heart disability, which includes aortic heart valve disease, was granted a 100% evaluation effective from September 23, 2013. The Veteran's depressive disorder and hypertension were not found to warrant higher initial evaluations.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and a compensable evaluation have been remanded due to the need for additional evidence and examinations.

The Veteran's application to reopen the claim for hiatal hernia was granted, and service connection for hypertension, PTSD, obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, lumbar spine disability, major depressive disorder, right little finger ankylosis, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity was denied. The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for various conditions was also remanded.

The Veteran's depression is granted service connection, but his high blood pressure/hypertension and pancreatitis are denied. The effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss remains November 6, 2013.

The Veteran's service connection for bilateral tinnitus is granted. The Veteran's hypertension is rated at 30 percent from February 9, 2017. The Veteran's migraine headaches are rated at 30 percent effective from February 9, 2017. Service connection for a traumatic brain injury is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for various conditions, including hypertension and prostate cancer, was denied. The claim for PTSD received an increased rating to 70 percent effective from April 15, 2015.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim of sleep apnea, and denied service connection for tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, prostate disability, high cholesterol, migraine headaches prior to December 28, 2016, left knee disability, right knee disability, hypertension, and anxiety disorder.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for migraine headaches from December 28, 2016 onwards have been granted with a 30% rating. The effective date of the award has also been denied.

The Board has remanded four issues: service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to service-connected persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, service connection for hypertension due to in-service herbicide exposure, an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for coronary artery disease (CAD), and an effective date prior to June 2, 2014, for the award of service connection for CAD. The Veteran's OSA may be related to his service-connected depressive disorder with anxious distress, but no examiner has provided a baseline level of severity or degree of disability resulting from aggravation. Hypertension is not on the list of diseases warranting presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure, but there is now sufficient evidence associating hypertension with Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran should be afforded VA examinations to clarify these issues.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and erectile dysfunction, finding that the conditions did not manifest during active service or to a degree of at least 10% disabling within one year after separation from service. The Board also found no evidence linking these conditions to service-connected sleep apnea.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left and right foot disabilities, Meniere's disease (claimed as vertigo), hypertension, thrombocytopenia, and tinea versicolor. The reasons given were that the evidence did not support a finding of current disability or a relationship to service.

Service connection for ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and a mental health disorder (depression) is denied. Ratings are granted for right shoulder strain with osteoarthrosis and right ankle arthrosis, but ratings are denied for other conditions.