Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: What is the proper ICD-10-CM code for "angina pectoris"?

Wisconsin Subscriber

Answer: For angina pectoris, you would choose I20- (Angina pectoris). However, if the patient has chronic ischemic heart disease (e.g. coronary artery disease/atherosclerotic heart disease with unstable angina pectoris, angina pectoris with documented spasm, unspecified angina pectoris or other forms of angina pectoris) you wouldn't code the I20.- codes. Instead, you would review the I25.- (Chronic ischemic heart disease) through I25.9 (... unspecified) codes.

Angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort, usually caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients who have angina pectoris may feel uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the center of their chest. They may also experience discomfort in their neck, jaw, shoulder, back, or arm.

Code I20- requires a fourth character, which denotes the specific type of angina. Your choices are as follows:

• I20.0 (Unstable angina), which includes accelerated angina, crescendo angina, de novo effort angina, intermediate coronary syndrome, preinfarction syndrome, and worsening effort angina.
• I20.1 (Angina pectoris with documented spasm), which includes angiospastic angina, prinzmetal angina, spasm-induced angina, and variant angina.
• I20.8 (Other forms of angina pectoris), which includes angina equivalent, angina of effort, coronary slow flow syndrome, stenocardia, and stable angina.
• I20.9 (Angina pectoris, unspecified), which includes angina NOS, anginal syndrome, cardiac angina, and ischemic chest pain.