Citation Nr: 20021532
Decision Date: 03/26/20	Archive Date: 03/26/20

DOCKET NO. 17-25 336
DATE: March 26, 2020

ORDER

Service connection for hypertension is granted.

FINDING OF FACT

Resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, his hypertension manifested within one year of his active service.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for hypertension have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1113, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1977 to October 1998.

In February 2020, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans’ Law Judge.  A copy of the transcript is associated with the record.

Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Evidence of continuity of symptomatology from the time of service until the present is required where the chronicity of a condition manifested during service either has not been established or might reasonably be questioned. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (b). Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d).  For a veteran who served 90 days or more of active service after December 31, 1946, there is a presumption of service connection for cardiovascular-renal disease, including hypertension, if the disability manifests to a compensable degree within one year of discharge from service. 38 U.S.C. § 1101, 1112, 1113; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. 

In this matter, the record shows that the Veteran has a diagnosis of hypertension. In his service treatment records (STRs) the Veteran had several indications of high blood pressure and noted as such on his retirement examination.  Furthermore, in 1999 the Veteran was diagnosed with high blood pressure and was put on medication to control his condition by his private physician.  In his February 2020 hearing, the Veteran noted his in-service indications of high blood pressure and reported his 1999 diagnosis and treatment.

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As such and resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence indicates that hypertension manifested within one year of the Veteran’s active duty service.  As such, the Veteran’s claim for service connection for hypertension must be granted.

 

 

JOHN Z. JONES

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A. Parrish, Associate Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.