Question: Should I report both essential hypertension and pulmonary hypertension together? Or should I code only the pulmonary hypertension because it’s more specific?
Tennessee Subscriber
Answer: Assuming the essential hypertension you reference is general high arterial blood pressure (not pulmonary), essential and pulmonary hypertension are separate diagnoses. So if the cardiologist documents both diagnoses as medically relevant to the visit, you should report both.
For essential hypertension, use 401.x (Essential hypertension).
Essential hypertension, also called primary or idiopathic, means [...]
