Citation Nr: 21000894 Decision Date: 01/06/21 Archive Date: 01/06/21 DOCKET NO. 17-09 952 DATE: January 6, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension is reopened. Service connection for hypertension is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a December 2012 rating decision, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) denied service connection for hypertension; the Veteran did not appeal. 2. The evidence received since the December 2012 rating decision is not cumulative or redundant of evidence previously of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension, and raises a reasonable possibility of so substantiating the claim. 3. The Veteran’s hypertension is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The December 2012 rating decision is final. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.160(d), 20.1103 (2019). 2. New and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension. 38 U.S.C. § 5108 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (2019). 3. The criteria to establish service connection for hypertension have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a) (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service from January 1970 to September 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a March 2014 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) that declined to reopen the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension. A Board hearing was held in November 2019. A transcript is of record. The Veteran seeks service connection for his hypertension, to include as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: "(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service"-the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may also be granted for disability which is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). This includes any increase in disability (aggravation) that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show (1) that a current disability exists and (2) that the current disability was either caused or aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995) (en banc). When initially seen by a private physician, A.M., M.D., in November 2002, the Veteran reported that he had been diagnosed with diabetes 10 years previously. He noted that he was prescribed an oral agent, and that he also took a daily vitamin. At that time, his blood pressure was normal, and no medication for hypertension was noted. On follow-up for diabetes in February 2003, Dr. M. assessed diabetes mellitus and hypertension. In October 2017, the Veteran’s private medical provider indicted that his hypertension was caused by his diabetes mellitus. She noted that the Veteran was diagnosed with diabetes in his 40s, and that he then developed hypertension. She indicated that diabetic patients were at a higher risk for developing hypertension. She concluded that there was a correlation between diabetes and hypertension. Having reviewed the record with respect to this issue, the Board concludes that service connection for hypertension is warranted. In this regard, the record contains medical evidence showing that diabetes predated the Veteran’s hypertension. Moreover, the Veteran’s private medical provider opined in 2017 that his hypertension was related to his diabetes. This conclusion was reached by a medical professional who considered the Veteran’s history and provided an opinion supported by rationale. (Continued on the next page)   As there is an informed medical opinion indicating that the Veteran’s hypertension is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, the Board concludes that service connection is in order. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Barone, 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.