Cardiology Question for the Week of August 7, 2023

Question:

If a patient is brought to the cardiac cath lab and only bypass grafts were visualized (for example, SVG [saphenous vein graft] to the right coronary artery [RCA], and SVG to the circumflex) with no native coronary arteries being injected or imaged, what is the appropriate CPT® procedure to code/charge?

Answer:

According to advice from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), when native coronaries and grafts are studied, the following may be the appropriate codes:

If only native coronaries and grafts: 93455

If native coronaries, grafts, and right heart cath: 93457

If native coronaries, grafts, and left heart cath: 93459

If native coronaries, grafts, right heart cath, and left heart cath: 93461

There is no code for only coronary graft angiography. Because the procedure performed is less than what the code descriptor requires, report the appropriate code from the choices above that includes native coronary angiography and add modifier -52 (reduced services).