The Board has reopened the claims for sleep apnea and hypertension, but service connection is not granted as the examiner did not address whether PTSD aggravates sleep apnea. The claim for an enlarged heart remains moot due to the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's PTSD has aggravated his diagnosed sleep apnea, which is a necessary finding in determining secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Enlarged Heart, Sleep Apnea, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2016
- Citation
- 1601982
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 1601982.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
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