I50.31

HCC Category Mapping

What This Code Means

A sudden onset of diastolic heart failure where the heart muscle becomes stiff and cannot relax properly, preventing normal blood filling and causing acute symptoms.

Coding Tips

• •Verify documentation explicitly states 'acute' diastolic dysfunction or heart failure
• •Distinguish from chronic diastolic heart failure by looking for recent onset or acute decompensation

Clinical Significance

Acute diastolic congestive heart failure represents a sudden onset of heart failure due to diastolic dysfunction, where the stiffened heart cannot fill adequately. Acute presentations often involve flash pulmonary edema, particularly in the setting of hypertensive crisis. These patients require urgent management but may have preserved ejection fraction on echocardiography.

Documentation Requirements

• ✓Provider must explicitly document 'acute' diastolic heart failure
• ✓Clinical markers of acuity: sudden onset dyspnea, pulmonary edema, acute fluid overload
• ✓Ejection fraction demonstrating preserved systolic function (typically 50% or greater)
• ✓Precipitating factors such as hypertensive crisis, rapid atrial fibrillation, or acute ischemia
• ✓Treatment response including diuretics, antihypertensives, oxygen therapy
• ✓Distinction from acute on chronic — this code implies no pre-existing chronic diastolic heart failure

Commonly Confused Codes