The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is proximately due to his service-connected chronic kidney disease, and thus grants service connection for this condition as secondary to his service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a bidirectional relationship between chronic kidney disease and obstructive sleep apnea through various mechanisms including alterations in chemoreflex responsiveness, pharyngeal narrowing due to fluid overload, and accumulation of uremic toxins.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2022
- Citation
- 22015609
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 22015609.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a direct relationship to service or toxic exposure. The Veteran's claims were based on his participation in TERA activities during service.
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