hypertension requirements

[GBArmy]

Can we get a disability if our b/p is now under control and is consistently now under 90? I have been taking meds for a long time now and the VA only has records of it being high many years ago.

[broncovet]

As always, you need the 3 Caluza elements, or it could be on the presumptive list.  I did check and High blood pressure is on a presumptive list, but it depends on when and where you served.

http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vapresumptivelist.html

[GBArmy]

On 4/6/2019 at 8:26 PM, broncovet said:

As always, you need the 3 Caluza elements, or it could be on the presumptive list.  I did check and High blood pressure is on a presumptive list, but it depends on when and where you served.

http://www.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com/vapresumptivelist.html

Hi Broncovet. I see you are a regular here; thanks for responding. I was in Nam ,'70-71 ,and supposedly high blood pressure is on the short list to be added for presumptives for A.O. and i was just trying to get ahead of the curve. I have been on b/p meds so long that I don't have any recent readings that will be considered high enough to be rated. It is under control when I take my meds and I sure don't want to stop taking them for a day or two just to go and get it checked at the VA. I am rated for IHD, or coronary heart disease, but I would like the rating for high blood pressure, even if it would be 0% now. I was hoping someone might know what is needed, or how far back can you go to show what it was before meds. If anyone has gone thru it, I'd be interested in knowing.

[Berta]

We discussed the new possible AO presumptives here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/haditcom/2019/04/04/hadit-podcast-special-show-new-agent-orange-presumptive-conditions-proposed

As I mentioned in the show , HBP was deemed at a higher potential than most of the other established prsumptives, by NAM (IOM)

I bumped up an article I did regarding the potential new AOs in the Agent Orange forum.

Jbasser gave a key point ,in the show, for any vet with a AO HBP claim.

I have written to Secretary Wilkie about specifically adding HBP and ischemic stroke to the list and I hope veterans will write to him as well.

Cost is a factor in the HBP situation- still the National Academy reports cannot be overlooked.Ischemic stroke however would have a very low cost factor as I explained to him in detail.

[Berta]

To add:

We have no idea if the Nehmer decision will kick in, and if it does (I am sure it will) hopefully there will be a Footnote One stipulation.

This is why I recommended that vets get out their VA stuff now.

As soon as something comes out of Sec. Wilkie's decision we will hear from NVLSP.

Footnote One is explained in email I posted here from Rick Spataro, head Nehmer lawyer, NVLSP , in the AO forum, when the 3 new AOs were determined in 2010.

This is how it works.

Husband had 10% rating for HBP in past VA decisions ,listed as NSC.

After he died the VA determined he had suffered a wrongful death.

The VA granted for all of the malpractice except HBP, until I re opened that claim and they granted under 1151.

The EED they gave to me is wrong and I have a CUE on it.

The EED should be 1988-they gave me 1992, the date he had a 1151 100% P & T stroke.

His EED posthumously for AO IHD went back to 1988-he died in 1994.

This was a footnote one claim.Although the IHD was never diagnosed and treated by VA it was never coded, but fell under the "should have been coded;" part of Footnote One.

Most Vietnam Vets who received significant  retroactive Nehmer awards  had been coded in a past VA decision:

Say the decision denied for CAD or IHD but they coded the disability and rendered it as NSC, at 30%. By time of the 2010 Nehmer , the CAD or IHD might well have escalated to 100%. VA would have to do a staged Fenderson rating from the first coded evidence up to the formal AO claim.

If they successfully were awarded for IHD,due to AO, their EED should have been back to the last coded denial.

This is why NVLSP had a special email addy at the time and wanted to see every vet's AO award to see if their EED was correct.I hope that happens with any future AO claims.

Also there is the Procopio factor-many Blue Water Navy veterans now  have a chance for AO comp-how that will be handled regarding Nehmer- I dont have a clue- but that too will be decided in time.

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Berta

[broncovet]

Whether or not your hbp is on the presumptive list can be important, but it may not "have the final say". 

Your doctor can render an opinion that your hbp is at least as likely as not due to your exposure to chemicals in service.  That works just as well as it being on the presumptive list, at least for the time being, as far as getting YOU SC.  

We do commend Berta for helping other Vets get SC, and that is great.  But focus on your claim, and gain some experience, then you can help other Vets, too.  Once you have been through the whole shebang, then you are in a better position to answer other Vets questions, IMHO.  

Berta has been through it all with her late hubby, but most of the rest of us have been or are going through it ourselves.  I first applied in 2002, and Im hoping to win an EED and SMC before year 2021, but I may be not realistic about that.  19 years is a little fast for VA.