Hypertension (high blood pressure) Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and rating issues due to outstanding VA and private treatment records not being obtained prior to adjudication.

The Veteran's death was ruled as natural causes with contributory conditions of epilepsy and hypertension. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service, and denied DIC benefits because he did not meet the criteria for total disability rating under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.

The Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 60 percent for lung cancer and a TDIU due to service-connected conditions have been denied. The Board also found that the Veteran is not entitled to a TDIU prior to November 24, 2020.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's hypertension, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Veteran's sleep apnea and hypertension have been granted service connection, while the claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss remains denied.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively related to herbicide agent exposure during his active duty service at U-Tapao, a Royal Thai base in Thailand. The Board found the Veteran's statements of his arrival and stay at U-Tapao while on active duty to be credible and consistent with other evidence.

The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and Parkinson's disease are remanded due to uncertainty regarding herbicide agent exposure at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The case must be further developed under the PACT Act.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a speech disorder, Parkinson's disease, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction. The case is being remanded to address the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder.,The Board also found that the Veteran's dizziness disorder claim requires further development as it involves secondary service connection to his hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's initial 10 percent rating for migraines is granted, while a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. Service connection is granted for pes planus, but not for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, bilateral knee pain, hypertension, GERD, or sleep apnea and generalized anxiety disorder.

The Board has restored service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease, diabetes mellitus type II, and hypertension due to a presumption of exposure based on service in or near the Korean DMZ. Service connection for scar as secondary to diverticulitis of colon is dismissed.

The Veteran's death was caused by bilateral bacterial pneumonia, dysphagia, and Alzheimer's dementia. The VA examiner concluded that the service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute to his death. However, an additional medical opinion is required regarding whether hypertension, CAD, and/or other service-connected conditions contributed to his death.

The Board has granted an effective date of January 28, 2020 for service connection of diabetes mellitus II and hypertension. The Veteran's claim for secondary sleep apnea to diabetes mellitus II is remanded due to inadequate medical opinion.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than August 10, 2022 for hypertension was granted. The initial compensable rating for hypertension is denied.,The Board found that the Veteran has continuously pursued his claim since July 2, 2020 and thus grants him a date of entitlement to July 2, 2020.

The Veteran's appeal of the denial for service connection for various conditions was dismissed due to concurrent elections, and his request for higher-level review was pending when he filed an appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions, including prostate cancer, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II, diabetic nephropathy and end stage renal disease with dialysis, diabetic peripheral neuropathies of various extremities, erectile dysfunction, lumbar spine strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome, and bilateral knee replacements, do not meet the criteria for service connection based on direct evidence or presumptive exposure to herbicide agents. The Board also found that there was no qualifying exposure to toxic environmental exposures during service.

The Veteran's appeal for hyperlipidemia was withdrawn by his authorized representative, resulting in the dismissal of this issue.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions of coronary artery disease, type II diabetes mellitus, and hypertension are granted as they are etiologically related to herbicide agent exposure in Guam.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation since March 27, 2018.,Prior to March 27, 2018, the evidence of record did not persuasively weigh in favor of finding that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone precluded him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes, fatty kidney disease, hypertension, and sleep apnea are remanded due to a lack of VA examinations addressing the etiology of these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current diagnosis and service. The Board noted that the earliest documentation of hypertension was in 2011, over 40 years after separation.