The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to service-connected PTSD.,Ischemic heart disease and peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities are denied due to lack of current diagnoses.,PTSD is granted with an initial rating of 50 percent, but no higher.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's sleep apnea was found to be secondary to his service-connected PTSD based on medical evidence linking the two conditions.,There is no current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease or peripheral neuropathy in the Veteran’s records. The Board gave more weight to the competent medical evidence, including VA examination reports and treatment records, which did not show these disabilities.,The Veteran's PTSD symptoms have caused occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, ischemic heart disease, bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19125612
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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