Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Our cardiologist was called in to the emergency room to treat a patient. The diagnosis was postpartum cardiomyopathy. She delivered about 12 weeks before this encounter. Is postpartum cardiomyopathy still the correct diagnosis?

Louisiana Subscriber

Answer: You should report a postpartum cardiomyopathy code, such as 674.54 (Peripartum cardiomyopathy with postpartum condition or complication), for this encounter. ICD-10 offers O90.3 (Peripartum cardiomyopathy).

AHA’s Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM (2012, Vol. 29, No. 3) states, “The peripartum period is defined as the last month of pregnancy to five months postpartum.” So the patient’s 12 weeks fits into this time frame.