The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for hypertension and GERD. The evidence shows that both conditions are related to his active military service, with hypertension being secondary to his service-connected optical neuritis and GERD likely due to weight gain or steroid use after discharge.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided link the Veteran's current diagnoses to his period of service, including a private physician who concluded that the Veteran's GERD was secondary to weight gain and/or steroid use, and another private physician who stated that the Veteran's hypertension was likely secondary to weight gain or renal adrenal axis down regulation.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- May 30, 2012
- Citation
- 1218945
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 1218945.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- 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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