The Board finds that the Veteran's long history of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat his service-connected disabilities did not cause or aggravate his non-service-connected hypertension and chronic kidney disease, nor was it a primary cause of death. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found that the Veteran's NSAID use did not at least as likely as not cause or aggravate his non-service-connected hypertension or chronic kidney disease and it was not a primary or contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-service-connected hypertension, Chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2018
- Citation
- 1821642
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 1821642.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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- Granted
The Veteran's chronic kidney disease was granted an increased rating to 60 percent effective June 19, 2025. The decision is based on GFR results from July, August and September 2025.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic kidney disease was granted with an effective date of June 1, 2017. This is the earliest date that medical evidence showed a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease as secondary to his diabetes mellitus.
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