I50.811
BillableAcute right heart failure
HCC Category Mapping
V28HCC 225 — Acute Heart Failure
0.000V24HCC 85 — Congestive Heart Failure
0.368ESRDHCC 85 — Congestive Heart Failure
0.000RxHCCHCC 186 — Heart Failure
0.000What This Code Means
The right side of the heart suddenly fails to pump blood effectively, typically developing over a short period.
Coding Tips
- •Ensure documentation explicitly states 'acute' right heart failure to use this code
- •Verify there is no documentation of chronic right heart failure; if present, use I50.813 instead
Clinical Significance
Acute right heart failure indicates sudden right ventricular dysfunction, often precipitated by acute pulmonary embolism, right ventricular infarction, or acute respiratory distress. This is a medical emergency requiring urgent intervention. The acute designation differentiates from chronic right ventricular failure and impacts treatment urgency.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Provider must explicitly document 'acute' right heart failure or acute right ventricular failure
- ✓Precipitating cause: pulmonary embolism, right ventricular infarction, acute pulmonary hypertension
- ✓Clinical evidence of acuity: sudden onset symptoms, hemodynamic instability
- ✓Right ventricular function assessment via echocardiogram or other imaging
- ✓Treatment response and clinical trajectory
- ✓Distinction from acute on chronic — implies no pre-existing chronic right heart failure
Commonly Confused Codes
I50.813 — Acute on chronic right heart failure: use when chronic right heart failure has acute exacerbationI50.812 — Chronic right heart failure: long-standing right ventricular dysfunctionI50.810 — Right heart failure, unspecified: does not specify acuityI26.09 — Other pulmonary embolism with acute cor pulmonale: if caused by pulmonary embolism, code the embolismI50.21 — Acute systolic heart failure: left-sided, not right-sided failure
Code Hierarchy
└I50Heart failure└I50.8Other heart failure└I50.81Right heart failure└I50.811Acute right heart failure
└I50.811Acute right heart failure