The Board found that the Veteran's hypertension was not service-connected as it was a result of his own willful misconduct, specifically substance abuse in service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that chronic substance abuse in service is at least as likely as not to have aggravated the Veteran's hypertension in service.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive vascular disease
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0906191
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for hypertensive vascular disease due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for hypertensive vascular disease was dismissed, while service connection for reactive airway disease (claimed as restrictive lung disease) was granted. The appeals for sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for further development, including obtaining additional evidence and providing an examination.
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