The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for arthritis of the lumbar spine was withdrawn.,Effective March 2, 2016, VA granted service connection for cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension. The Veteran is not entitled to an effective date prior to this date.,VA also granted service connection for cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension on March 2, 2016. However, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date.,The Veteran's initial rating of 30 percent for cardiac arrhythmia is maintained as his workload was greater than 3 METs but not greater than 5 METs resulting in fatigue.,VA denied a higher initial rating for hypertension, as the Veteran's blood pressure readings did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for arthritis of the lumbar spine.,There were no pending or otherwise unadjudicated claims for cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension disabilities at the time of receipt of the March 2, 2016 claim. The Veteran's claims were granted based on a finding of incurrence in service under 38 C.F.R. § 3.304.,VA did not grant an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension disabilities as there was no intent to raise such claim before March 2, 2016.,The Veteran's workload of greater than 3 METs but not greater than 5 METs resulting in fatigue satisfied the criteria for a 60 percent evaluation under DC 7011. However, his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as he did not have chronic congestive heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of less than 30 percent.,VA's blood pressure readings did not indicate diastolic pressure of predominantly 110 or more or systolic pressure that is predominantly 200 or more, thus the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under Diagnostic Code 7101.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the lumbar spine, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- June 22, 2017
- Citation
- 1723462
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 1723462.
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