Peripheral Artery Disease ICD-10-CM codes

I73.9 (peripheral vascular disease, unspecified) is the default when PAD or PVD is documented without atherosclerosis, and it includes intermittent claudication NOS. When the provider documents atherosclerosis of the leg arteries, I73.9 is excluded and the I70.2- codes are required instead.

I70.2- describes atherosclerosis of native arteries of the extremities. The fifth character captures the clinical stage: 0 unspecified, 1 intermittent claudication, 2 rest pain, 3 ulceration of the right leg, 4 ulceration of the left leg, 5 ulceration of another extremity, and 6 gangrene. The sixth character reports laterality (1 right, 2 left, 3 bilateral, 8 other extremity, 9 unspecified), or the ulcer site for the ulceration codes. These codes are hierarchical: rest pain includes claudication, ulceration includes rest pain, and gangrene includes ulceration, so report only the highest stage documented for each leg.

With ulceration codes such as I70.234 (right heel and midfoot), add an L97.- code for the severity of the ulcer. I70.26- includes gangrene, so I96 is not reported separately. Add I70.92 for chronic total occlusion of an extremity artery, and Z95.820 for a prior angioplasty with stent. Atherosclerosis of a bypass graft in the leg is classified to I70.3- through I70.7-, not I70.2-.

In a diabetic patient, PAD is presumed related to diabetes and is reported with E11.51 (or E11.52 with gangrene) followed by the I70.2- code for the atherosclerosis. Aortic atherosclerosis is I70.0, and generalized atherosclerosis is I70.91.