Cardiac Arrest Management: Part 1
These include:
The patient arrives in the hospital’s emergency service unit in a state of cardiac arrest and is resuscitated (and admitted) with the condition prompting the cardiac arrest known, such as ventricular tachycardia or trauma. The condition causing the cardiac arrest is sequenced first followed by code 427.5, Cardiac arrest.
ICD-10 code Z86. 74 for Personal history of sudden cardiac arrest is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
Personal history of sudden cardiac arrest Z86. 74 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM Z86. 74 became effective on October 1, 2021.
ICD-10 code: I46. 1 Sudden cardiac death, so described.
Code 427.5, Cardiac arrest, may be used as a secondary code in the following instances: The patient arrives in the hospital's emergency service unit in a state of cardiac arrest and is resuscitated (and admitted) with the condition prompting the cardiac arrest known, such as ventricular tachycardia or trauma.
Short description: Hx-circulatory dis NOS. ICD-9-CM V12. 50 is a billable medical code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis on a reimbursement claim, however, V12.
Z86. 79 Personal history of other diseases of the circulatory system - ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes.
Ill-defined and unknown cause of mortality The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM R99 became effective on October 1, 2021.
We have only been coding the “CPR” code: 5A12012 Performance of Cardiac Output Single, Manual.
Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death, accounting for up to 80% of all cases. Cardiomyopathies and genetic channelopathies account for the remaining causes. The most common causes of non-ischemic sudden cardiac death are cardiomyopathy related to obesity, alcoholism, and fibrosis.
If the patient dies in-house from the cardiac arrest without attempt at resuscitation, such that the cardiac arrest is their terminal event, you do not code the arrest. The fact that the patient died in the hospital is embedded in their discharge status and there is an alternate mechanism to report inpatient deaths.
Causes of Death in Cardiogenic Shock and Cardiac Arrest The causes and predictors of death differ between CS and CA: ABI is the primary cause of death in patients with CA, whereas CS patients typically die via refractory shock, organ failure, and arrhythmias.
The cardiogenic shock code is still a “symptom” code that is not usually reported if the underlying cause is stated. If the cardiogenic shock leads to cardiac arrest, then it makes sense that only the cardiac arrest code would be reported.
Cardiac Arrest Medical Coding Coding Clinic review states the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest should be sequenced first, if known. If the cause is unknown, the cardiac arrest may be the Principal Diagnosis (1Q 2013, pages 10-12, 3Q 1995 p.
code blueHospital staff may call a code blue if a patient goes into cardiac arrest, has respiratory issues, or experiences any other medical emergency. Hospitals typically have rapid response teams ready to go when they get notified about a code blue.
It is included in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPT code 92950).
CPRCPT states 92950 is intended to describe CPR to restore and maintain the patient's respiration and circulation after cessation of heartbeat and breathing.
427.5 is a legacy non-billable code used to specify a medical diagnosis of cardiac arrest. This code was replaced on September 30, 2015 by its ICD-10 equivalent.
If you have had an SCA, an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) reduces the chance of dying from a second SCA.
The heart has an internal electrical system that controls the rhythm of the heartbeat. Problems can cause abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. There are many types of arrhythmia. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or it can stop beating. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when the heart develops an arrhythmia that causes it to stop beating. This is different than a heart attack, where the heart usually continues to beat but blood flow to the heart is blocked.
Code also note - A "code also" note instructs that two codes may be required to fully describe a condition, but this note does not provide sequencing direction.
Without medical attention, the person will die within a few minutes. People are less likely to die if they have early defibrillation. Defibrillation sends an electric shock to restore the heart rhythm to normal. You should give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a person having SCA until defibrillation can be done.
Code 427.5, Cardiac arrest, may be used as a secondary code in the following instances:#N#The patient arrives in the hospital’s emergency service unit in a state of cardiac arrest and is resuscitated (and admitted) with the condition prompting the cardiac arrest known, such as ventricular tachycardia or trauma. The condition causing the cardiac arrest is sequenced first followed by code 427.5, Cardiac arrest.#N#When cardiac arrest occurs during the course of hospitalization and the patient is resuscitated, code 427.5 may be used as a secondary code except as outlined in the exclusion note under category 427. 1 The patient arrives in the hospital’s emergency service unit in a state of cardiac arrest and is resuscitated (and admitted) with the condition prompting the cardiac arrest known, such as ventricular tachycardia or trauma. The condition causing the cardiac arrest is sequenced first followed by code 427.5, Cardiac arrest. 2 When cardiac arrest occurs during the course of hospitalization and the patient is resuscitated, code 427.5 may be used as a secondary code except as outlined in the exclusion note under category 427.
When the physician records cardiac arrest to indicate an inpatient death, do not assign code 427.5 when the underlying cause or contributing cause of death is known since the Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set (UHDDS) has a separate item for reporting deaths occurring during an inpatient stay.
When cardiac arrest occurs during the course of hospitalization and the patient is resuscitated, code 427.5 may be used as a secondary code except as outlined in the exclusion note under category 427.
If the patient is freshly resuscitated and brought to the hospital, I don’t think the Z code would be appropriate, as the evaluation and care of the prehospital arrest is still in process. However, during subsequent admissions (or office visits, for that matter), the Z code would be entirely appropriate for use, as the acute episode of cardiac arrest precipitating the index admission to the hospital is resolved.
The sudden cessation of cardiac activity so that the victim subject/patient becomes unresponsive, without normal breathing and no signs of circulation. Cardiac arrest may be reversed by cpr, and/or defibrillation, cardioversion or cardiac pacing.
The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM I46.9 became effective on October 1, 2021.
Cardiac standstill or arrest; absence of a heartbeat.
The cardiac arrest codes are found in I46. The options are I46.2, Cardiac arrest due to an underlying cardiac condition, I46.8, Cardiac arrest due to other underlying condition, and I46.9, Cardiac arrest, cause unspecified. I46.2 and I46.8 would be secondary diagnoses because if you establish the underlying cause, ...
There are approximately 350,000-400,000 cases of cardiac arrest arising outside of the hospital setting per year, and not all of these patients make it to the emergency department. The incidence in any given hospital on any given shift is somewhere between zero and what you see on TV medical shows.
The last facet of documenting the emergency department cardiac arrest is to be sure to take inventory of the resultant conditions. Did the patient fall and sustain fractures or lacerations? Were there fractured ribs from CPR? Are there sequelae such as coma or anoxic brain injury, respiratory failure or arrest, shock liver, acute kidney injury, etc.? Make precise, thorough, and exhaustive diagnoses with appropriate linkage.
If the patient dies during the admission, the cardiac arrest will not serve as a major complication or comorbidity (MCC).
This intellectual exercise reminded me of debates I had previously about whether you code cardiac arrest in the hospital if the patient is not successfully resuscitated. For that, I and Coding Clinic have a definitive answer. If a patient sustains cardiac arrest in the hospital and you attempt (or are successful at) resuscitation, you code it and the procedures performed. If the patient dies during the admission, the cardiac arrest will not serve as a major complication or comorbidity (MCC).
If there are residual issues or deficits, those could be definitive diagnoses. For instance, if the patient has anoxic brain damage and is in respiratory arrest and on a ventilator, those could be the captured diagnoses. However, I think leaving out the cardiac arrest would be leaving out a key part of the story.
On the other hand, you are doing the workup because it occurred. If a patient has a symptom that elicits a work up, but it has resolved by the time they are brought into the ED, you still can code it, such as with syncope or altered mental status.