Citation Nr: 21002128 Decision Date: 01/12/21 Archive Date: 01/12/21 DOCKET NO. 13-12 349 DATE: January 12, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving any doubt in favor of the Veteran, his hypertension manifested to a compensable degree within one year of separation from active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for hypertension are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1131, 1137, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 4.104, Diagnostic Code 7101. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1967 to May 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2011 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board most recently remanded this matter in March 2017, December 2017, and December 2019. Review of the completed development reveals that, at the very least, substantial compliance with the remand directives was obtained. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 146-47 (1999). Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is granted. The Veteran relates his hypertension to his active service. Specifically, the Veteran asserted that his disability manifested within one year of separation from service and that he was prescribed medication to treat his hypertension in 1971. See February 2014 Decision Review Officer Hearing; October 2017 correspondence. The Veteran also related his hypertension to several stressful incidents during service and consuming preservative in foods while onboard ship. See January 2011 VA 21-4138; January 2011 Veteran correspondence; October 2019 correspondence. In support of his claim, the Veteran submitted the March 2020 statement of his spouse. His spouse indicated that the Veteran began to experience headaches and dizziness three months after they started dating. The Veteran was subsequently diagnosed with hypertension and began to take medication for the condition. They married in 1971 (within one year of separation). See also Marriage certificate (showing the couple was married in December 1971). Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166 -67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Certain chronic diseases, including hypertension, will be presumed related to service, absent an intercurrent cause, if they were shown as chronic in service; or, if they manifested to a compensable degree within a presumptive period following separation from service; or, if they were noted in service (or within an applicable presumptive period) with continuity of symptomatology since service that is attributable to the chronic disease. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Service connection may also be presumed for hypertension, if it manifested to a compensable degree within one year after discharge from service. The initial question for the Board is whether the Veteran has a current disability. Post-service medical records show a diagnosis of hypertension. See e.g. November 2001 private treatment records. Private treatment records show that the Veteran was prescribed medication commonly used for high blood pressure as early as January 1996, when he was prescribed Lotensin. The Board notes that these are the earliest treatment records associated with the claims file. As such, the evidence supports that the Veteran has a current disability manifested by hypertension. The Veteran’s service treatment records are silent for complaints, treatment or diagnosis related to hypertension. Moreover, these records show normal blood pressure readings for VA purposes pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.104, Diagnostic Code 7101, Note 1. See November 1966 enlistment examination and May 1971 separation examination. Upon review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that service connection is warranted. The Board finds that the lay statements of the Veteran and his spouse competent and probative regarding his diagnosis of hypertension within a year of separation of discharge from active service. Generally, lay evidence can be competent and sufficient evidence of a diagnosis, or to establish etiology, where the layperson is reporting a contemporaneous medical diagnosis or where lay testimony describes which supports a later diagnosis by a medical professional. Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Veteran has been consistent and credible in his reports that he was diagnosed with hypertension within one year after he discharged from service. Furthermore, the Veteran’s spouse indicated that he experienced symptoms of hypertension prior to their marriage and was subsequently diagnosed with hypertension. Their marriage certificate indicates that their marriage occurred within one year of separation from service. There is nothing to explicitly contradict these reports and they are generally consistent with the evidence of record. As such, the Board finds that the Veteran provided credible lay statements of symptoms of hypertension and a diagnosis of hypertension since within a year of separation from active service. The Veteran’s spouse reported that he began taking continuous medication during this period for hypertension, which would warrant a compensable rating for hypertension. See 38 38 C.F.R. § 4.104, Diagnostic Code 7101. The Board has considered the September 2019 and February 2020 VA medical opinions which negatively opined on the matter. Although this represents competent evidence to the contrary, the evidence is not entitled to more probative weight than the lay statements noted above. Rather, the September 2019 medical opinion disregarded the Veteran’s lay reports of symptoms of hypertension and the February 2020 medical opinion only provided a rationale based upon a claim for secondary service connection. As such, the evidence is at least in a state of equipoise. All reasonable doubt is resolved in the Veteran’s favor and service connection for hypertension is therefore warranted. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). PATRICK M. JOHNSON Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Vuong, 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.