Hypertension ICD-10 code
The ICD-10-CM code for hypertension is I10 (essential (primary) hypertension). It is billable and valid for submission on a claim. There are 16 related codes, and which one you use depends on what the documentation supports.
Also written as htn, high blood pressure.
The mistake coders make here
I10 is essential hypertension alone. If heart disease or CKD is documented WITH the hypertension, ICD-10-CM presumes the link and wants a combination code from I11–I13 instead.
Putting hypertension on a claim? Check the claim’s diagnosis codes free: Excludes1 conflicts, header codes and missing seventh characters, before it goes out.
ICD-10-CM codes for hypertension
14 of 16 are billable. Green means you can submit it as-is.
| Code | Use it when |
|---|---|
| I10 | Essential (primary) hypertension |
| I11.9 | Hypertensive heart disease without heart failure |
| I12.9 | Hypertensive chronic kidney disease with stage 1 through stage 4 chronic kidney disease, or unspecified chronic kidney disease |
| I13.10 | Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease without heart failure, with stage 1 through stage 4 chronic kidney disease, or unspecified chronic kidney disease |
| O10.01 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancynot billable on its own |
| O10.02 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating childbirth |
| O10.03 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating the puerperium |
| O10.011 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, first trimester |
| O10.013 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, third trimester |
| O10.012 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, second trimester |
| O10.019 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, unspecified trimester |
| O10.0 | Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperiumnot billable on its own |
| G93.2 | Benign intracranial hypertension |
| K76.6 | Portal hypertension |
| I27.21 | Secondary pulmonary arterial hypertension |
| P29.2 | Neonatal hypertension |
Once you have the code
- Check the whole claim: Excludes1 conflicts and missing seventh characters, free
- Denial codes explained: what CO-16, CO-97 and the rest actually mean
- Decision guides: walk a chart note to a code, guideline cited
- Everything here that is free, and the one thing no free tool includes
The presumed relationships in I11, I12 and I13
Official Guideline I.C.9.a presumes a causal relationship between hypertension and heart involvement (I50.- heart failure, or I51.4 to I51.9) and between hypertension and chronic kidney disease, unless the provider documents that they are unrelated. So hypertension with heart failure is I11.0 plus the I50.- code for the type of failure, not I10 plus I50.-; hypertension with CKD is I12.9 (stages 1 to 4 or unspecified) or I12.0 (stage 5 or ESRD) plus the N18.- stage; and hypertension with both is I13.- to the fourth character (I13.0 heart failure with CKD 1-4, I13.10 no heart failure with CKD 1-4, I13.11 no heart failure with CKD 5/ESRD, I13.2 heart failure with CKD 5/ESRD). The heart-disease link can be broken by documentation; the kidney-disease link cannot.
Elevated readings, urgency, emergency and crisis
A raised blood pressure reading without a diagnosis of hypertension is R03.0, elevated blood-pressure reading: the provider decides when readings become the disease, and a coder does not. I16.- is hypertensive crisis and it is coded in addition to the underlying hypertension: I16.0 urgency, I16.1 emergency, I16.9 crisis unspecified. Secondary hypertension due to a named cause is I15.- (I15.0 renovascular, I15.1 due to other renal disorders, I15.2 due to endocrine disorders) with the underlying condition also coded, sequenced by the reason for the encounter.
Pregnancy, and the 'controlled' trap
Hypertension in a pregnant patient is coded from Chapter 15: pre-existing hypertension is O10.- (O10.01- essential, complicating pregnancy), gestational hypertension without proteinuria is O13.-, and pre-eclampsia is O14.-. The I10 code is added after the O10 code for pre-existing essential hypertension. 'Controlled', 'benign', 'well-managed' and 'history of hypertension' in a patient still on antihypertensives all mean I10: hypertension under treatment is current hypertension, and Z86.79 (personal history of circulatory disease) is wrong for it.
Common questions
- What is the ICD-10 code for hypertension?
- I10, essential (primary) hypertension, when there is no documented heart or kidney involvement. With heart failure it is I11.0 plus I50.-; with chronic kidney disease it is I12.- plus N18.-; with both, I13.-.
- Does 'history of hypertension' on antihypertensives get I10 or Z86.79?
- I10. A patient whose hypertension is controlled by medication still has hypertension. Z86.79 is for a resolved condition no longer under treatment.
- How do I code hypertension with stage 3 CKD?
- I12.9, hypertensive chronic kidney disease with stage 1 through stage 4 or unspecified CKD, plus N18.30, N18.31 or N18.32 for the stage. The relationship is presumed by Guideline I.C.9.a.2 even if the provider does not state it.