The Veteran's hypertension, acquired psychiatric disorder (including alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptoms disorder and depressive disorder), lateral epicondylitis of the right elbow, left wrist pain with carpal tunnel syndrome, right wrist pain with carpal tunnel syndrome, sleep apnea, tension headaches, and chronic bronchitis have been granted service connection.,The Veteran's chronic bronchitis was not manifest during service and is not related to his active service.
The deciding factor: Service records show the Veteran had elevated blood pressure readings after separation from service, which supports a diagnosis of hypertension. The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s current condition began in service.,The Veteran reported sleep symptoms during service and continued since then, leading to a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, acquired psychiatric disorder (including alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptoms disorder and depressive disorder), lateral epicondylitis of the right elbow, chronic pain of the left wrist with carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic pain of the right wrist with carpal tunnel syndrome, sleep apnea, tension headaches, chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2026
- Citation
- A26020355
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 A26020355.
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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