The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and hyperlipidemia (claimed as hypertensive heart disease) is being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether his conditions were aggravated by active duty or are secondary to his service-connected PTSD and OCD.
The deciding factor: The Board found that a new opinion was needed to address the adequacy of the previous VA examination, which did not adequately consider the Veteran's testimony about stress during active duty and the private medical opinion regarding aggravation. The opinions were also needed for secondary service connection due to his PTSD and OCD.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, hyperlipidemia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20014250
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 20014250.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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