The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension secondary to PTSD has been granted. The initial rating for Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) prior to February 20, 2014 is also granted.,Service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea remains pending as a new medical opinion is needed due to the lack of specific analysis regarding its relationship to service-connected conditions and presumed herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's sleep apnea disability has not been adequately evaluated in terms of its potential causes, including service connection for presumed exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19184903
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19184903.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected left knee and left ankle conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected other specified insomnia disorder.
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