Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Recently, I encountered two new codes -- V12.53 and V17.41. When did they come out, and what will I use them for?

Wyoming Subscriber

Answer: Codes V12.53 (Personal history of sudden cardiac arrest) and V17.41 (Family history of sudden cardiac death [SCD]) appeared in ICD-9 2008 and took effect on Oct. 1, 2007.

You'll use these codes to describe the patient's past, for instance, cardiac death due to a trauma, such as a car accident or electric shock. When a non-idiopathic reason caused a patient's cardiac death, you can reflect this history with V12.53.

On the other hand, suppose the patient's father died of sudden cardiac death on a basketball court. For this reason, the mother brought the patient in for the cardiologist to evaluate. In this circumstance, you'll apply V17.41.

-- You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were prepared with the assistance of Jim Collins, ACS-CA, CHCC, CPC-CARDIO, president of the Cardiology Coalition and compliance manager for several cardiology groups around the country.