The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding the service connection claims for hypertension and an acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety). The Veteran's hypertension is not considered to be related to his military service, as there is no evidence of its onset during or within one year after discharge. For the anxiety claim, a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if it had its onset during service or is due to service exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board found that hypertension was not incurred in service and did not become manifest within one year post-service, thus failing to meet the criteria for direct service connection. For the anxiety claim, a VA examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether it had its onset during service or is due to service exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Anxiety)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2021
- Citation
- 21022221
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 21022221.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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