The veteran's arterial hypertension and heart disease were incurred in service, as it is just as likely as not that these conditions manifested to a degree of at least 10 percent disabling during his second period of service from February 2003 to February 2004 or within one year of his discharge.
The deciding factor: The April 2005 VA examination concluded that the veteran's hypertension and heart disease were present much earlier than their initial diagnosis, supporting a finding of in-service onset.
- Claimed conditions
- Arterial Hypertension, Hypertensive Atherosclerotic Heart Disease with Acute Coronary Syndrome, Aortic Regurgitation, Mitral Regurgitation, Mitral Valve Prolapse and Sinus Brachycardia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 29, 2008
- Citation
- 0814040
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 0814040.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression is now rated at 70 percent, effective September 2, 2010. The rating for his hypertension remains denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for arterial hypertension, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and his military service or any service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD was granted service connection. The Veteran's arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II were both found to be within the applicable rating criteria, with no increase in ratings being granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for arterial hypertension, but denied it on its merits. The claims for heart disability and increased ratings for diabetes mellitus and lumbosacral spine disability are remanded.
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