The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and arteriosclerotic heart disease as secondary to the veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder, and has assigned a 50 percent rating for the anxiety disorder. The claims of increased ratings for pes planus and anxiety disorder have been granted. The claims of reopening service connection for low back and neck disabilities as secondary to pes planus are also granted.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hypertension and arteriosclerotic heart disease were found to be aggravated by his service-connected anxiety disorder, warranting service connection under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(b). The increased ratings for pes planus and anxiety disorder are granted as they are secondary to the service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- December 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0638693
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,500 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0638693.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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