Hypertensive urgency

This code represents a severe elevation in blood pressure (typically systolic >180 mmHg or diastolic >120 mmHg) without evidence of acute, new, or worsening target organ damage. Patients are usually asymptomatic or experience non-specific symptoms like headache or anxiety.

Use this code when documentation clearly indicates significantly elevated blood pressure requiring prompt reduction, but without signs of end-organ damage such as acute renal failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, or pulmonary edema. This diagnosis is often made in an outpatient setting or emergency department where the patient is stable.

• Differentiate carefully from hypertensive emergency (I16.1), which involves acute target organ damage and requires immediate inpatient treatment.
• Ensure documentation explicitly states the absence of acute end-organ damage to support this diagnosis.
• Code any associated symptoms (e.g., R07.0 for headache) in addition to the hypertension code.