The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, granted under the PACT Act, is now considered valid.,New and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for cardiovascular disease. The claim remains pending as it was previously denied in February 2016.,Service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, right lower extremity, left upper extremity, and left lower extremity is denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes has been dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran during his July 2022 hearing.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding of hypertension as presumptively related to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act, given the Veteran's service in Vietnam and current diagnosis.,New evidence was submitted showing borderline left ventricular hypertrophy and mitral annular calcification, which is considered new and material for reopening the cardiovascular disease claim.,The Veteran does not have a current or recent to the filing of the claim diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy in any extremity. The June 2018 VA examination did not find evidence of such condition.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for Parkinson's disease, restless leg syndrome, and essential tremors remain on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23020868
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 23020868.
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.
- 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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