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Denied

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is denied as there is no evidence of chronic hypertension in service or within the applicable presumptive period.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is also denied. The Board finds that the Veteran did not serve in Vietnam and thus cannot establish herbicide exposure. Additionally, secondary service connection to a service-connected condition (hypertension) is not granted as there is no evidence of hypertension in service.

The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided by the VA examiner found no evidence of chronic hypertension during active duty and noted that any reported high blood pressure readings were inconsistent with the Veteran's otherwise healthy status.,There was no credible evidence to support the Veteran’s claims of herbicide exposure or diabetes onset within the presumptive period. The Board also determined that secondary service connection could not be granted as there is no evidence of hypertension in service.

Claimed conditions
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 19, 2021
Citation
21030533

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 21030533.

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