Hypertension (high blood pressure) Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension as due to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act, effective from when the Veteran served at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.

The Board denied service connection for right knee, right hip, PFB, and HTN disorders as they are not shown to be related to service.

The Veteran's skin disability is currently rated as 30 percent disabling, and the Board denied a higher rating. The hypertension issue was remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is granted. The claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremities are remanded due to lack of a current diagnosis or opinion regarding these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of an examination for hypertension, which is currently on appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension and acquired psychiatric disorder claims require additional development due to incomplete examination reports. The case is being remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar, right shoulder, left shoulder, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension disabilities due to lack of a VA medical examination in connection with these claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence linking the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability or active duty service, including in-service complaints of dyspnea, to his cause of death. The appellant is asked to provide any additional medical records and a VA clinician will be requested to provide an opinion on whether there is a relationship between the Veteran's depression and his coronary artery disease.

The Veteran's death was caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome and klebsiella pneumonia, with hypertension as a contributory cause. Service connection for cause of death is granted due to the PACT Act presumption of association between hypertension and exposure to herbicide agents.

The Board has dismissed all issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims due to his death.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents. Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is denied. The Veteran's coronary artery disease from October 3, 2015 is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that new and material evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Veteran's GERD was granted a 10 percent rating prior to May 10, 2022 and a 30 percent rating beginning on that date.,A 10 percent rating for hypertension was granted prior to January 14, 2019. No higher rating is warranted after that date.,The Veteran's migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent rating effective from May 10, 2022.,No higher ratings are warranted for either GERD or hypertension.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions, including cervical strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome, bilateral plantar fasciitis, right and left carpal tunnel syndrome, hypertension, basilar skull fracture, and status post tympanoplasty, are being remanded for further evaluation due to lack of recent VA examinations.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as due to herbicide agent exposure under the PACT Act. However, his secondary service connection claims for stroke and prostate condition are remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of seizure disorder, residuals of a stroke, or syncope and has not had these conditions at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim.,Regarding her claimed acquired psychiatric disorder (Panic Disorder), the Board finds that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether it clearly and unmistakably preexisted service. The Veteran's panic symptoms are attributed to unknown causes, and she cannot resolve whether they were caused by or a result of service-connected activities without resorting to mere speculation.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted a 10 percent rating, but no higher. The Board also remanded the claims for increased rating of bipolar II disorder and TDIU due to insufficient development.

The Board has dismissed the claim of service connection for hypertension as it was granted in a previous rating decision.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumed due to exposure to herbicide agents. The initial rating for diabetes prior to February 22, 2021 and thereafter from October 4, 2021 is denied. From February 22, 2021 to October 4, 2021, a 20 percent rating for diabetes is granted. Separate ratings of 20 percent are granted for right lower extremity PAD and left lower extremity PAD from June 15, 2019 to October 20, 2021. SMC at the housebound rate is granted from June 15, 2019 to October 20, 2021.

The claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and hypertension are denied.,The claim for secondary service connection for a respiratory disability (asthma and COPD) is also denied.