2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code I10Essential (primary) hypertension

ICD-10-CM Codes›I00–I99›I10-I1A›primary

ICD-10-CM I10
CMSSource: CMS FY 2027 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2027

I10 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for essential (primary) hypertension. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027). The code is flagged as a questionable admission, since it rarely justifies inpatient admission on its own. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Essential hypertension.

I10 does not risk-adjust for Medicare Advantage under the CMS-HCC V28 model. It still risk-adjusts in the RxHCC Part D (V08) category 187 for payment year 2027.

This medical diagnosis code is frequently used in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and OB/GYN medical specialties to designate conditions such hypertension.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
I10
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Essential (primary) hypertension
Short Description
Essential (primary) hypertension
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Chapter
I10-I1A
Hypertensive diseases

Code Classification

ChapterI00–I99Diseases of the circulatory system
SectionI10-I1AHypertensive diseases
CategoryprimaryEssential hypertension (I10)
This CodeI10Essential (primary) hypertension

Code EditsBilling

Medicare Code Editor checks that affect claim validity for I10.

Some diagnoses are not usually sufficient justification for admission to an acute care hospital. For example, if a patient is given code R030 for elevated blood pressure reading, without diagnosis of hypertension, then the patient would have a questionable admission, since elevated blood pressure reading is not normally sufficient justification for admission to a hospital. The following list contains diagnosis codes identified as questionable admission when used.

Quality Payment Program MeasuresBilling

Medicare quality measures that can apply when I10 is part of the patient record.

Controlling High Blood Pressure

High Priority: YES

Measure Type: Intermediateoutcome

Submission Methods: Claims, Electronic Health Record, Registry

Description: Percentage of patients 18-85 years of age who had a diagnosis of essential hypertension starting before and continuing into, or starting during the first six months of the measurement period, and whose most recent blood pressure was adequately controlled (<140/90mmHg) during the measurement period.

Medicare Risk Adjustment (HCC)Billing

I10 does not risk-adjust for Medicare Advantage under the CMS-HCC V28 model, but it maps to payment categories in the other CMS models shown below.

CMS-HCC V28 (Medicare Advantage Payment Model)
Not mapped
no payment category in the model that pays 100% of MA risk scores
Prior Model (CMS-HCC V24)
Not mapped under V24
this diagnosis newly risk-adjusts under the V28 model
Part D (RxHCC)
RxHCC 187 — Hypertension
also risk-adjusts in the Part D prescription drug model (V08)

Source: CMS Payment Year 2027 risk adjustment mappings and model software. Weights are relative factors, not dollar amounts; a beneficiary's total RAF also includes demographics and interactions. Browse all CMS-HCC categories.

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Benign essential hypertension
  • Benign hypertension
  • Brachydactyly and arterial hypertension syndrome
  • Brachydactyly syndrome type E
  • Cerebrovascular accident with intracranial hemorrhage
  • Dementia due to hemorrhagic cerebral infarction due to hypertension
  • Dementia due to hypertensive encephalopathy
  • Dementia due to metabolic abnormality
  • Diastolic hypertension
  • Diastolic hypertension and systolic hypertension
  • Essential hypertension
  • Good hypertension control
  • Grange syndrome
  • Headache due to arterial hypertension
  • Hemorrhagic cerebral infarction
  • Hemorrhagic cerebral infarction due to hypertension
  • Hemorrhagic infarction
  • Hereditary dysplasia of blood vessel
  • High-renin essential hypertension
  • Hypertension monitoring offer default
  • Hypertension monitoring status
  • Hypertension stage 1
  • Hypertension stage 2
  • Hypertension with albuminuria
  • Hypertensive complication
  • Hypertensive crisis
  • Hypertensive disorder
  • Hypertensive emergency
  • Hypertensive optic neuropathy
  • Hypertensive treatment changed
  • Intermittent hypertension
  • Labile diastolic hypertension
  • Labile essential hypertension
  • Labile systemic arterial hypertension
  • Low-renin essential hypertension
  • Malignant essential hypertension
  • Malignant hypertension
  • Martorell ulcer of lower leg
  • Martorell ulcer of lower limb
  • On treatment for hypertension
  • Rebound hypertension
  • Stable hypertension
  • Supine hypertension
  • Sustained diastolic hypertension
  • Systolic essential hypertension
  • Systolic hypertension
  • Transient hypertension

Instructional NotesGuidance

Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to I10: its own notes plus those printed at block I10-I1A and Chapter 9. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.

Includes

Further defines, or gives examples of, the content of the category.

  • high blood pressure
  • hypertension (arterial) (benign) (essential) (malignant) (primary) (systemic)

Excludes1

Not coded here: the excluded code is never reported together with this one, unless the two conditions are unrelated.

On I10 itself
  • hypertensive disease complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O10-O11, O13-O16)
From Block I10-I1A Hypertensive diseases applies to 18 codes
  • neonatal hypertension (P29.2)
  • primary pulmonary hypertension (I27.0)

Excludes2

Not included here: the excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient may have both, so both codes may be reported.

On I10 itself
  • essential (primary) hypertension involving vessels of brain (I60-I69)
  • essential (primary) hypertension involving vessels of eye (H35.0-)
From Block I10-I1A Hypertensive diseases applies to 18 codes
  • hypertensive disease complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O10-O11, O13-O16)
From Chapter 9 (I00-I99) Diseases of the circulatory system applies to 1,433 codes
  • certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
  • certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
  • complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
  • congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
  • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
  • injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
  • neoplasms (C00-D49)
  • symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
  • systemic connective tissue disorders (M30-M36)
  • transient cerebral ischemic attacks and related syndromes (G45.-)

Use Additional Code

Add a second code, after this one, to fully describe the condition.

From Block I10-I1A Hypertensive diseases applies to 18 codes
  • code to identify:
  • exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22)
  • history of tobacco dependence (Z87.891)
  • occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z57.31)
  • tobacco dependence (F17.-)
  • tobacco use (Z72.0)

Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.

Referenced in Other NotesGuidance

Instructional notes printed at other codes that name I10, its category, or a range that includes it.

Applicable To 1

These notes mention I10.

  • O10.0 Pre-existing essential hypertension complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
    Any condition in I10 specified as a reason for obstetric care during pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium

Code First 1

These codes say to code first a condition named in the note, and I10 is one of the conditions named.

  • I1A.0 Resistant hypertension
    essential hypertension (I10)

Use Additional Code 2

These codes say to use an additional code from the note, and I10 is one of the codes named.

Code Also 6

These codes say I10 may also be needed to fully describe the condition. The note gives no sequencing direction.

  • H35.0 Background retinopathy and retinal vascular changes
    any associated hypertension (I10)
  • I16 Hypertensive crisis
    any identified hypertensive disease (I10-I15, I1A)
  • Block I20-I25 Ischemic heart diseases
    the presence of hypertension (I10-I1A)
  • I67.4 Hypertensive encephalopathy
    essential (primary) hypertension (I10)
  • I87.2 Venous insufficiency (chronic) (peripheral)
    essential (primary) hypertension (I10)
  • Z15.3 Genetic susceptibility to kidney disease
    if applicable, hypertension (I10-I1A)

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR CIR007
Essential hypertension
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Essential Hypertension

    hypertension that occurs without known cause, or preexisting renal disease. associated polymorphisms for a number of genes have been identified, including agt, gnb3, and ece1. omim: 145500

Patient EducationClinical

High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Each time your heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls.

The full article covers:

  • What is blood pressure?
  • How is high blood pressure diagnosed?
  • What are the different types of high blood pressure?
  • Why do I need to worry about high blood pressure?
  • What are the treatments for high blood pressure?

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert I10 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
401.0 Malignant hypertension
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.
ICD-9-CM
401.1 Benign hypertension
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.
ICD-9-CM
401.9 Hypertension NOS
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2026No changes
FY 2027CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Questions About I10Overview

What is the ICD-10 code for essential (primary) hypertension?

The ICD-10-CM code for essential (primary) hypertension is I10. It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Is I10 (Essential (primary) hypertension) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report essential (primary) hypertension on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Does I10 justify an inpatient admission?

Not on its own. The Medicare Code Editor lists this code as a questionable admission because essential (primary) hypertension is not usually sufficient justification for admission to an acute care hospital.

Can I10 be reported with P29.2?

Not as a rule. The Excludes1 note at block I10-I1A, which applies to I10, lists "neonatal hypertension (P29.2)". An Excludes1 note means the excluded code is never reported together with this one; the only exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other (Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of I10?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, essential (primary) hypertension converts to ICD-9-CM 401.0 (malignant hypertension), 401.1 (benign hypertension), and 401.9 (hypertension NOS). The mapping is approximate, so confirm the match fits the documentation.

Does I10 risk-adjust for Medicare Advantage payment?

Not for Medicare Advantage: I10 maps to no category in the CMS-HCC V28 model. It still risk-adjusts in the RxHCC Part D (V08) category 187 (Hypertension).