Healthcare Insights

Top 10 cardiovascular procedure codes

February is often associated with hearts because of Valentine’s Day. However, there’s another reason we should think about hearts this month: it’s American Heart Month. Since 1963, American Heart Month has been a time to raise awareness about heart conditions and help older adults and people at risk fully embrace cardiovascular health. 

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for people in the United States. Cardiovascular diseases are also the leading cause of death globally, representing 32% of all deaths in 2019.  

Despite a half-century of progress, the fight against cardiovascular diseases continues. Therapy and drug innovation, however, is on the rise, indicating how an investment in intelligence can help lead to the discovery of new approaches to treatment.  

Insights into this area of the healthcare industry can help healthcare providers make more strategic decisions along each step of the development and commercialization journey.  

Below, we look at the top cardiovascular procedure codes to see which were performed the most in 2021.  

Top 10 cardiovascular procedure codes in 2021

RankCPT codeCPT descriptionTotal proceduresExplore dataset
193010Electrocardiogram, routine ECG with at least 12 leads19,424,607Explore
293000Electrocardiogram with at least 12 leads, including tracing, interpretation, and report12,825,994Explore
393005Electrocardiogram with at least 12 leads; tracing only, without interpretation and report12,808,802 Explore
493306Echocardiography, transthoracic, real-time with image documentation (2D), includes M-mode recording8,559,147Explore
593798Physician services for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation; with continuous ECG monitoring (per session)2,055,254Explore
693325Doppler echocardiography color flow velocity mapping1,518,599Explore
793296Rem interrog pm/ldls pm/ids <90 d tech review1,277,711Explore
893015Cardiovascular stress test using treadmill or bicycle exercise, continuous ECG monitoring, with supervision, interpretation, and report1,078,770Explore
993018Cardiovascular stress test using treadmill or bicycle exercise, continuous ECG monitoring, interpretation and report only1,000,999Explore
1093017Cardiovascular stress test using treadmill or bicycle exercise, continuous ECG monitoring, tracing only.969,862Explore

Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare ClaimsMx product for calendar year 2021. Commercial claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and is updated monthly. Data is accurate as of February 2022. 

What were the top cardiovascular procedures performed in 2021? 

Routine electrocardiograms (CPT Codes 93010, 93000 and 93005) held the top three positions for most cardiovascular procedures performed last year. This is unsurprising as ECGs are painless and noninvasive and are a common way to help many common heart conditions for people of all ages.  

Cardiovascular stress tests (CPT Codes 93015, 93018 and 93017) rounded out the bottom of the 10 most performed cardiovascular procedures in 2021. These tests usually require the patient to walk on a treadmill or ride on a stationary bike while their heart rhythm, blood pressure and breathing are monitored. A doctor may recommend a stress test if their patient shows signs of coronary artery disease or arrhythmia.  

What is heart disease? 

Heart disease used interchangeably with cardiovascular disease, describes the various conditions that affect your heart, heart rhythm, blood vessels and more. Heart disease claims the lives of more than 650,000 people each year.  

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of heart disease in the U.S. and occurs when a buildup of plaque cholesterol blocks the arteries that supply blood to the heart. CAD can lead to severe health issues such as an irregular heartbeat, chest pain, stroke, heart attack and heart failure.  

Learn more 

Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers.