Personal history of sudden cardiac arrest

This code indicates that a patient has a documented history of experiencing a sudden cessation of cardiac activity, which was successfully resuscitated. It signifies a past life-threatening event where the heart abruptly stopped pumping blood effectively, leading to loss of consciousness and absence of breathing.

Use this code when a patient presents for follow-up care, management of underlying conditions, or evaluation for preventative measures following a successfully treated sudden cardiac arrest. It is appropriate for documenting the patient's past medical history of this specific event, even if the current encounter is for an unrelated issue.

• This code is for a personal history and should not be used for an active or current sudden cardiac arrest event.
• Always code the underlying cause of the sudden cardiac arrest, if known and still relevant to the current encounter, in addition to this history code.
• Do not use this code for a history of myocardial infarction (heart attack) unless it specifically led to a sudden cardiac arrest that was resuscitated.