The Board denied service connection for hypertension, a cardiac disorder (including ischemic heart disease and atrial fibrillation), a respiratory condition (dyspnea), and bilateral-eye disorders (diabetic retinopathy, partial blindness, glaucoma, cataracts) due to diabetes. The Board also denied service connection for peripheral vascular disease of the right-lower extremity.,The Board found that there was no evidence linking hypertension or a cardiac disorder to service or service-connected conditions and thus denied these claims.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient medical evidence to establish a direct relationship between the Veteran's diagnosed conditions (hypertension, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, respiratory condition, bilateral-eye disorders, and peripheral vascular disease) and his military service or any service-connected disabilities. The Board found that there was no connection between hypertension and diabetes, nor did it find evidence of a direct relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Ischemic heart disease (including atrial fibrillation), Respiratory condition (dyspnea), Bilateral-eye disorder (diabetic retinopathy, partial blindness, glaucoma, cataracts), Peripheral vascular disease of the right-lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181970
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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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
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