I70 vs I73.9
I70 and I73.9 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on I73.9
atherosclerosis of the extremities (I70.2--I70.7-)
I70
Atherosclerosis
Not billable
- Chapter 9
- Diseases of the circulatory system
- Section
- I70-I79
Use when the record says
- arteriolosclerosis
- arterial degeneration
- arteriosclerosis
- arteriosclerotic vascular disease
- arteriovascular degeneration
- atheroma
- endarteritis deformans or obliterans
- senile arteritis
I73.9
Peripheral vascular disease, unspecified
BillableUnspecified
- Chapter 9
- Diseases of the circulatory system
- Section
- I70-I79
Use when the record says
- Intermittent claudication
- Peripheral angiopathy NOS
- Spasm of artery
Indexed under
- Angiospasm (peripheral) (traumatic) (vessel)
- Angiospastic disease or edema
- Arteriospasm
- Claudication (intermittent)
- Microangiopathy (peripheral)
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027