2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code F43.9

Reaction to severe stress, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Code:
F43.9
ICD-10 Code for:
Reaction to severe stress, unspecified
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Not chronic
Code Navigator:

Code Classification

  • Mental and behavioural disorders
    (F01–F99)
    • Anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, somatoform and other nonpsychotic mental disorders
      (F40-F48)
      • Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders
        (F43)

F43.9 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of reaction to severe stress, unspecified. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2023 through September 30, 2024.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like F43.9 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

  • Attends stress monitoring
  • Psychomotor agitation
  • Stress and adjustment reaction
  • Stress due to family tension
  • Stress monitoring check done
  • Stress monitoring default
  • Stress monitoring status
  • Stress monitoring status
  • Stress monitoring status
  • Stress reaction with psychomotor agitation
  • Symptoms of stress

Clinical Classification

Clinical Information

  • Psychomotor Agitation

    a feeling of restlessness associated with increased motor activity. this may occur as a manifestation of nervous system drug toxicity or other conditions.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.


Inclusion Terms

Inclusion Terms
These terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
  • Trauma and stressor-related disorder, NOS
  • Unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Convert F43.9 to ICD-9-CM

  • ICD-9-CM Code: 309.9 - Adjustment reaction NOS
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.

Patient Education


Stress

What is stress?

Stress is how your brain and body respond to a challenge or demand. When you are stressed, your body releases chemicals called hormones. The hormones make you alert and ready to act. They can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. This response is sometimes called a "fight or flight" response.

Everyone gets stressed from time to time. There are different types of stress. It can be short-term or long-term. It can be caused by something that happens once or something that keeps happening.

Not all stress is bad. In fact, it can help you survive in a dangerous situation. For example, one kind of stress is the jolt you may feel when a car pulls out in front of you. This jolt of hormones helps you quickly hit the brakes to avoid an accident. A little short-term stress can sometimes be helpful. For example, the stress of having a deadline for school or your job may push you to get your work done on time. Once you finish it, that stress goes away.

But stress that lasts a long time can harm your health.

What causes long-term stress?

Long-term stress, or chronic stress, lasts for weeks, months, or longer. As you go about your life, your body is acting as if you're being threatened.

Causes of long-term stress include:

  • Routine stress from the demands of work, school, family needs, money problems, and other daily pressures that don't stop.
  • Stress from sudden, difficult changes in your life, such as divorce, illness, losing your job, or other unhappy life events that often have a long impact.
  • Traumatic stress, which may happen when you're in danger of serious harm or death. Examples include being in a bad accident, a war, a flood, earthquake, or other frightening event. This type of stress can cause a long-lasting problem called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How can long term-stress harm my health?

People respond to stress in different ways. If you're stressed for a long time you may notice that you are:

  • Getting sick more often than usual because stress weakens your body's ability to fight germs
  • Having stomach problems or trouble digesting food
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Having headaches
  • Feeling sad, angry, or easily upset

When stress keeps going, your body acts as if you're always in danger. That's a lot of strain that may play a part in developing serious health problems, including:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes (high blood sugar)

It's possible to get used to the symptoms of stress and not even realize there's a problem. So when there's a lot of stress in your life, it's important to pay attention to how it affects you so you can do something about it.

How can I manage long-term stress?

Simple things that improve your mental health may be helpful in managing long-term stress, such as:

  • Get regular exercise. A 30-minute daily walk can help you feel better and help keep your immune system strong, so you don't get sick.
  • Try relaxing activities. You could look for an app or wellness program that uses breathing, meditation, or muscle relaxation exercises.
  • Get enough sleep every night.
  • Avoid too much caffeine.
  • Decide what you need to do now and what can wait. And focus on what you got done each day, not on what you weren't able to do.
  • Ask your family or friends for support.

When should I ask my health care provider for help with stress?

Get help if you're having severe symptoms for 2 weeks or more, including:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Changes in your eating that cause unwanted changes in your weight
  • Troubles getting out of bed because of your mood
  • Difficulty focusing your thoughts
  • Losing interest in things you usually enjoy
  • Not being able to do your usual daily activities

Always get help right away if stress is causing you to:

  • Have thoughts of harming yourself
  • Feel you can't cope
  • Use drugs or alcohol more often than usual

Your health care provider may refer you to a mental health professional such as a psychologist or social worker.

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.