This edition of Start Smart reviews atherosclerosis coding and arteriosclerosis of the native arteries of the extremities. There are many subcategories with inclusion terms that support accurate code selection for these conditions, so it is important to code to the highest level of specificity when supporting documentation is present.
Specificity matters even more now: as of January 2026, unspecified peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and unspecified peripheral vascular disease (PVD) codes are no longer risk-adjusted diagnoses under Version 28 of Medicare Advantage. More specific codes, such as those capturing rest pain, ulceration, or gangrene, will map to an HCC.
The three double-sided tip sheets below, including two relevant Coding Clinic articles, support this topic as quick desk references.
Download the atherosclerosis coding tip sheets
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