The Board denied service connection for heart disease with hypertension as it did not have its onset during active service, did not manifest within one year of separation from active service, was not caused or aggravated by the veteran's service connected PTSD, and is not otherwise etiologically related to the veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's heart disease with hypertension is related to his service-connected PTSD. The first evidence of these conditions is found over 25 years after separation from service, and there is no medical opinion linking them directly or secondarily to service or service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disease with hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2008
- Citation
- 0813203
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0813203.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a blood disorder, heart disease with hypertension, and kidney disease. The Veteran's claims were based on direct evidence of the conditions during his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found no basis for assigning a higher rating either by rating the service connected disorder on the basis of heart disease or on the basis of hypertension.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for PTSD as the evidence did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and there was no credible supporting evidence that the claimed stressors actually occurred.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's heart disease with hypertension is rated at 60 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available for this condition.
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