ICD10BillableValid for clinical use
ICD-10 Code I77.810: Thoracic aortic ectasia
Reviewed by HealthAssure Clinical TeamUpdated 26 May 2026
What is this code?
ICD-10 codes are diagnosis classification codes used in healthcare records, reporting, coding workflows, and billing support. This code sits within the broader ICD-10 area for Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99).
đź“‹Clinical overview
Aortic ectasia describes an aorta that is enlarged compared with what is expected. The aorta is the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the body. These entries distinguish chest, abdominal, combined chest-and-abdominal or unspecified location. The label does not supply a diameter, rate of change or individual risk, and should not automatically be substituted for aortic aneurysm, dissection or rupture.
When is it used?
- May be used when a clinician documents thoracic aortic ectasia in a patient's medical record.
- May appear in hospital records, claims, referrals, and clinical documentation.
- This code can be used as a clinically usable diagnosis entry in standardized coding workflows.
What it does not mean
- A code alone does not explain severity, treatment plan, or outcome.
- A medical code should not be treated as a substitute for a doctor's diagnosis or advice.
đź©şClinical context
When commonly used
- The record describes aortic ectasia at the documented site. Reports may use enlargement, dilation or ectasia with different conventions, so the actual images, measurements and clinical interpretation matter. A generic description or one numerical threshold from another aortic segment does not establish an aneurysm diagnosis or justify changing the code.
- The chest and abdominal portions of the aorta are different locations; a combined distribution is not inferred from a list of neighboring pages. The title does not specify every affected segment, branch vessel, valve finding or associated coronary problem. An unspecified-site entry reflects missing location detail rather than involvement of the entire aorta.
- Enlargement can be discovered incidentally during imaging for another reason. A person may have few obvious symptoms, but symptom absence is not a measurement of size or safety. Conversely, chest, back or abdominal symptoms are not automatically caused by ectasia and need assessment according to their severity and timing.
- The cause and personal risk need the record and clinical assessment. Blood pressure, smoking history, family history and associated vascular or valve conditions may be relevant, but the code does not diagnose hypertension, atherosclerosis, a bicuspid valve, Marfan syndrome or another inherited disorder. Neither an inevitable-progression narrative nor an automatic all-clear follows from the term ectasia.
Common workup
- Review considers why imaging was performed, the affected portion of the aorta, symptoms, earlier reports, family history, medicines and other conditions. Ask what was actually measured and whether the report distinguishes ectasia from another aortic diagnosis. A code or coverage association cannot replace the original imaging interpretation.
- Selected ultrasound, echocardiography, CT or MRI may answer different questions about the relevant segment, heart or valve. Not every test can show every portion equally well. The team chooses an appropriate study based on the clinical question and factors such as kidney function, contrast exposure and radiation; no modality or contrast agent is declared universally kidney-safe here.
- Comparison with previous imaging helps assess stability or change, but differences in technique, imaging modality or measurement location can affect the numbers. A different reported diameter alone does not prove true growth or shrinkage. Ask how the studies were compared and what follow-up is appropriate; this page gives no universal panel, size cutoff or fixed imaging interval.
- Stored CMS echo, rendering, limb-physiology, thorax CT, angiography and abdominal or visceral duplex links are coverage context, not measurements, congenital diagnoses, additional sites or required orders. A thorax CT link does not prove chest involvement on an abdominal or unspecified-site page. These associations and existing specialty labels do not establish referrals or payment eligibility.
Common management context
- Care is tailored to the actual site, measurements, change over time, symptoms, possible cause and other health conditions. An agreed monitoring plan may be appropriate in selected situations, but the code alone does not set the timetable or prove that waiting is safe. Acute concerning symptoms should not be managed as routine surveillance because the record says ectasia.
- Discuss blood-pressure care, smoking cessation and other cardiovascular risks according to individual needs. Medicines depend on the person's findings and other indications. Review prescriptions, non-prescription products and supplements with the treating team; this page does not order a beta-blocker, another pressure medicine, a statin, aspirin or anticoagulation, or select doses or treatment targets.
- Ask what activity is appropriate and whether family assessment or pregnancy-related advice is relevant to the actual condition. General information about inherited aortic disease does not mean that everyone needs genetic testing or the same restrictions. There is no lifting limit, exercise quota, pregnancy clearance or universal screening schedule here, and lifestyle changes are not a promise to shrink the aorta.
- An ectasia label does not establish a need for open repair, an endovascular graft, a stent or valve surgery. If another aortic condition or an intervention is being considered, ask about the documented indication, alternatives and personal risks. Aneurysm-specific repair thresholds and procedure descriptions are not an ectasia treatment algorithm, and no technical steps, medicine-holding plan or recovery deadline are provided.
🔍Key distinctions
Important notes
- All local coding-note arrays on these site-specific entries remain empty. Their parent I77.81 includes Ectasis aorta and carries Excludes1 for aortic aneurysm and dissection (I71.-). Retain that parent-level distinction in context without copying it into local arrays or relabeling it Excludes2. The actual documentation and coding conventions matter; the broad terminology does not make the diagnoses interchangeable.
- Sudden severe chest, back or abdominal pain, collapse, severe breathlessness or sudden concerning neurologic or limb symptoms require emergency assessment. Call emergency services immediately rather than driving yourself or waiting for a clinic callback, a home reading, extra medicine, exercise or a scheduled scan. Do not assume either a harmless symptom or a confirmed rupture from this page.
- The code gives no numerical rupture risk, growth rate, prognosis or size-based treatment decision. Aneurysm, wall dissection and full-wall rupture are different problems, not automatic consequences established by ectasia. Neither guaranteed progression nor guaranteed lifelong safety can be predicted from a site label, and fewer symptoms do not settle whether follow-up is needed.
- Official hierarchy, guidance, exclusions, relationships, tests, procedures, specialists and semantic suggestions remain unchanged. Neighboring sites are navigation, not additional diagnoses. This is explanatory context, not a diagnostic cutoff, drug regimen, surveillance protocol, procedural guide or promise of cure.
- I77.810 is the billable thoracic-site entry: the enlargement is described in the chest portion of the aorta. It does not identify the root, ascending segment, arch or descending segment, establish aortic-valve disease or describe abdominal involvement. Use the actual report rather than a neighboring site label to determine the extent.
Related codes to consider
I77.811Abdominal aortic ectasia
Existing aortic-ectasia site entry for navigation, not another affected segment or an interchangeable diagnosis. Chest, abdominal, combined and unspecified sites depend on the actual report; the link supplies no measurement, aneurysm, dissection, rupture or treatment indication.
I77.812Thoracoabdominal aortic ectasia
Existing aortic-ectasia site entry for navigation, not another affected segment or an interchangeable diagnosis. Chest, abdominal, combined and unspecified sites depend on the actual report; the link supplies no measurement, aneurysm, dissection, rupture or treatment indication.
I77.819Aortic ectasia, unspecified site
Existing aortic-ectasia site entry for navigation, not another affected segment or an interchangeable diagnosis. Chest, abdominal, combined and unspecified sites depend on the actual report; the link supplies no measurement, aneurysm, dissection, rupture or treatment indication.
Code hierarchy
chapter
9Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)
block
I70-I79Diseases of arteries, arterioles and capillaries
category
I77Other disorders of arteries and arterioles
category
I77.8Other specified disorders of arteries and arterioles
category
I77.81Aortic ectasia
currentI77.81
Where you may see this code
You may see this code in hospital records, discharge summaries, insurance claims, encounter documentation, referrals, or other healthcare billing and coding records.
Related specialists
CardiologistGeneral Physician
Related codes
Sibling codes
Coverage-related procedures and services
CPT 93978high
DUPLEX SCAN OF AORTA, INFERIOR VENA CAVA, ILIAC VASCULATURE, OR BYPASS GRAFTS; COMPLETE STUDY
Source: CMS coverage guidance
CPT 93979high
DUPLEX SCAN OF AORTA, INFERIOR VENA CAVA, ILIAC VASCULATURE, OR BYPASS GRAFTS; UNILATERAL OR LIMITED STUDY
Source: CMS coverage guidance
CPT 93975high
DUPLEX SCAN OF ARTERIAL INFLOW AND VENOUS OUTFLOW OF ABDOMINAL, PELVIC, SCROTAL CONTENTS AND/OR RETROPERITONEAL ORGANS; COMPLETE STUDY
Source: CMS coverage guidance
CPT 93976high
DUPLEX SCAN OF ARTERIAL INFLOW AND VENOUS OUTFLOW OF ABDOMINAL, PELVIC, SCROTAL CONTENTS AND/OR RETROPERITONEAL ORGANS; LIMITED STUDY
Source: CMS coverage guidance
CPT 76376high
3D RENDERING WITH INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, ULTRASOUND, OR OTHER TOMOGRAPHIC MODALITY WITH IMAGE POSTPROCESSING UNDER CONCURRENT SUPERVISION; NOT REQUIRING IMAGE POSTPROCESSING ON AN INDEPENDENT WORKSTATION
Source: CMS coverage guidance
CPT 76377high
3D RENDERING WITH INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, ULTRASOUND, OR OTHER TOMOGRAPHIC MODALITY WITH IMAGE POSTPROCESSING UNDER CONCURRENT SUPERVISION; REQUIRING IMAGE POSTPROCESSING ON AN INDEPENDENT WORKSTATION
Source: CMS coverage guidance
Coding guidelines
Common synonyms
Thoracic aortic ectasia
Frequently asked questions
đź“šReferences
Cleveland Clinic: Aortic Terminology and Imaging, Expert Transcript
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic: Abdominal Aortic Enlargement, Expert Transcript
Cleveland Clinic
Leeds Teaching Hospitals: Aortopathy Clinic and Thoracic Aortic Context
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
BHF: Aortic Aneurysm, Dissection and Rupture Distinctions
British Heart Foundation
CMS/NCHS: FY2027 Excludes1 Convention, Section I.A.12.a
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and National Center for Health Statistics
About this content
This page is prepared by HealthAssure's clinical team using official coding standards from ICD-10. AI tools assist with drafting explanations, which are then reviewed and verified by healthcare professionals for accuracy. This content is for informational purposes and does not replace professional medical advice. Meet our team.