hypertension Nod Denied

[noelmc]

My husband I have been reading this board since Oct 7th (we joined Nov 06). And have learned so much information. We have followed the ideas and advice from here with some success and am grateful for all the wonderful people that dedicate so much of their time and energy to help other vets. Thank you.

My husband is a Vietnam Vet and when we were at friends funeral (he was a Vietnam Vetage 59) his widow informed us of the Va's benefits and encouraged us to file. Most importantly she brought us to Hadit.

My husband filed Oct 13th. We were notified on Feb.21 by his SO that he was awarded 60%.

20% Diabetes

20% neuropathy legs bil (10 for each)

20% neuropathy hands bil (10 for each)

10% tinnitus

special k award.

Was denied for heart, hypertension.

We requested a reconsideration because they did not look at his Insulin usage or regulation of activities.

We received a letter giving us the option of an appeal or a DRO.

March 29th we opted for the DRO.

April 17th we received a denial for his heart and htn but they did up his DM11 to 40%.

We are very grateful for this and can't believe how fast it has happened. We do believe this was because of the information you have on this board.

We are surprised and disappointed regarding the denial for the heart and htn. We are unsure of how to proceed to connect the heart and htn. We thought we had given them enough information to connect to the DM. The so has been helpful but we have provided him with a ton information gleaned from this board.

My husband could no longer do the work his job required so he was forced to retire early (5 years ago).

Our question is where do we go from here?

Thanks again for everything you do for so many.

[Guest terrysturgis]

noelmc, look up a post I did a couple weeks ago because I presented a statement taken from one of my denial decisions that quoted VA policy that said if you have PN, HBP should be service connected. Try HBP on the search engine. I would type it again but the PN in my hands makes it hard for me to do too much typing. If you can't find it, let me know. Terry Sturgis

[Guest terrysturgis]

noelmc, I found it by entering Hypertension in the search. It is under Heart Disease Rate Increase by Stillhere. Also it would be best for a question like this to be in the Claims and Research section. Welcome aboard. Terry Sturgis

[Pete53]

Noelmc:

If you read Hadit you will learn that very few get a good rating on first wash. I suggest that you follow Tery's advice and also consider getting a Medical Opinion that can support your case.

One other thing is your husband able to work full time?

Good Luck

[john999]

Terry

So the VA admits there is a cause/effect relationship between PN and HBP? I am like you and have PN in all four limbs along with the DMII. Arterioscelorisis is also closely related to DMII and it often shows up in the legs first. You can get this checked out by having a CT scan of the legs. Tell the VA that when you walk your calfs start to cramp up and they should do a CT scan on you. If you have HBP then arterioscelorisis should be service connected to the HBP as well. These are all things that can eventually lead to amputation and death so it is important to monitor it.

[Berta]

I dont know how to move this all to Claims Research-

Did your husband apply for SSA disability benefits?

Did your husband apply also for TDIU (form 21-8940)?

The VA had to give you complete medical rationale as to why they failed to SC the heart condition and the HBP as secondary to the DMII.

Is the newer DMII rating consistent with the actual rating schedule for DMII at 40%?

Does the VA have medical evidence showing that your husband has both HBP and heart disease and they are due to his DMII?

I out a link to the VA's diabetes training letter at hadit in claims research the other day-

It gives many tips as to what DMII causes and what can be secondary SC due to the DMII.

You did very well so far- seems to me they have more to award though-

I believe the SSA can deny disability claims if the person was out of work for over 5 years before applying- not sure-there are plent of SSA web sites that can help and their main site- one can apply right through the main site-for SSA benefits.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Berta

[jbasser]

Berta, I will move the post to claims research. It will allow more folks to see it.

Edited April 18, 2007 by jbasser