Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for high blood pressure
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 31,575 issues about high blood pressure. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 39 percent. It sent 51 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
1,320 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 1,758 were dismissed or withdrawn. 202 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 97,378 issues across 86,600 decisions, 27 percent granted of the ones decided, and 48 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted11,404 issues | Denied30,425 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 81 percent | 80 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 50 percent | 61 percent |
| A hearing was held (the veteran or a witness testified) | 42 percent | 33 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 9 percent | 6 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to high blood pressure
Heart disease secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 252 issues paired, 72 percent granted of the ones decided
Erectile dysfunction secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 239 issues paired, 63 percent granted of the ones decided
Kidney conditions secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 227 issues paired, 65 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 213 issues paired, 40 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 156 issues paired, 29 percent granted of the ones decided
Eye conditions secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 152 issues paired, 41 percent granted of the ones decided
Migraines secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 119 issues paired, 62 percent granted of the ones decided
Depression or anxiety secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 21 issues paired, 71 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure claimed as secondary to something else
High blood pressure secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 1,262 issues paired, 30 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to PTSD
Since 2019: 1,117 issues paired, 40 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to depression or anxiety
Since 2019: 612 issues paired, 46 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to heart disease
Since 2019: 338 issues paired, 25 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to lower back conditions
Since 2019: 112 issues paired, 34 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 165 issues paired, 57 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to knee conditions
Since 2019: 91 issues paired, 36 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to kidney conditions
Since 2019: 80 issues paired, 50 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to cancer
Since 2019: 49 issues paired, 27 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to migraines
Since 2019: 48 issues paired, 13 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to asthma
Since 2019: 41 issues paired, 0 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to arthritis
Since 2019: 33 issues paired, 71 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to liver conditions
Since 2019: 31 issues paired, 43 percent granted of the ones decided
Five recent decisions about high blood pressure
- June 30, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for hypertension as secondary to service-connected left knee disabilities
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for hypertension
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for high blood pressure (hypertension)
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Denied
Entitlement to an increased rating greater than 30 percent for diabetic nephropathy with hypertension
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 26, 2026Denied
Entitlement to a compensable initial rating for hypertension
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
For these conditions the Board reads for the diagnosis first, then the link. A named diagnosis in a treatment record, with the test that supports it, is the floor. A list of symptoms with no diagnosis behind it leaves the Board with nothing to rate. The exception is the Gulf War rule, which also pays for signs and symptoms the tests cannot explain, and it names chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome as conditions it covers.
The link comes one of three ways. A doctor's opinion that ties the condition to service, or to another service-connected condition, with reasons. A presumption, when the condition and the service fit one of the lists in the rules. Or, when the condition is one the rules list as a chronic disease and it was noted in service, a record of the same symptoms running from service to now.
For a higher rating, the schedule is specific. Each of these conditions has its own list of findings, like blood pressure readings, lab values, or how many attacks a month. Bring the records that show the findings, not just the diagnosis.
Many of these conditions are claimed as secondary to another one. The claim needs a doctor to say the first condition led to the second, or made it worse, and to explain why. The reasons are what the claim rests on.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.