The Veteran's hypertension is not entitled to a compensable rating, and his OSTSRD is rated at 30 percent prior to June 29, 2015, and 50 percent thereafter. The Board finds that the criteria for these ratings are not met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's blood pressure readings did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 7101, as his diastolic pressure has never been predominantly 100 or more and his systolic pressure was only once over 160. For OSTSRD, the Board found that the symptoms prior to June 29, 2015 did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 30 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Other Specified Trauma-and Stress-Related Disorder (OSTSRD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2016
- Citation
- 1613821
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 1613821.
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.
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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 has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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