The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is granted on a presumptive basis under the PACT Act. However, the effective date of this award can be no earlier than August 10, 2022. The Board has remanded to explore alternate theories of entitlement to service connection based on direct service connection for the period prior to the PACT Act's effective date.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension is presumed to be associated with in-service exposure to herbicide agents due to his service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. However, a medical opinion regarding the nexus between the Veteran's hypertension and his in-service exposure is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26015603
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 A26015603.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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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