Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: What does the acronym HFpEF mean? My cardiologist documented this condition, and I’m not sure which ICD-10 code to report.

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: HFpEF is the acronym for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, also called diastolic failure. When a patient suffers from diastolic heart failure, the muscle of her left ventricle has become stiff and won’t relax normally. This results in the heart not adequately filling with blood during the resting period between each heartbeat.

If you look under category I50.3- (Diastolic (congestive) heart failure), you will see three included conditions — diastolic left ventricular heart failure, heart failure with normal ejection fraction, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Notice that this category includes the HFpEF acronym.

When you are reporting diastolic congestive heart failure, look to the following code choices:

• I50.30 (Unspecified diastolic (congestive) heart failure)
• I50.31 (Acute diastolic (congestive) heart failure)
• I50.32 (Chronic diastolic (congestive) heart failure)
• I50.33 (Acute on chronic diastolic (congestive) heart failure).