I65.02 Occlusion and stenosis of left vertebral artery

ICD-10-CM I65.02: Occlusion and stenosis of left vertebral artery

ICD-10-CM code I65.02 designates a diagnosis of occlusion and stenosis of the left vertebral artery. The concept is classified as a disease or syndrome and falls under the broader parent category of vertebral artery occlusion and stenosis. Vascular imaging can identify such arterial occlusions, and the code appears in Medicare billing articles concerning non-invasive cerebrovascular studies. 1 2 3

Plain-language overview

ICD-10-CM code I65.02 identifies a health condition characterized by blockage or narrowing specifically in the left vertebral artery, which is a blood vessel arising from the subclavian artery. 1 2

What this code represents

The terminology record for I65.02 assigns a semantic type of disease or syndrome and maintains an active status for this specific diagnosis of left vertebral artery occlusion and stenosis. 1

Coding details

Within the ICD-10-CM hierarchy, code I65.02 is a narrower concept under the parent code I65.0, which represents the general occlusion and stenosis of the vertebral artery. 1

Clinical context

Vascular imaging techniques such as CT angiography or magnetic resonance angiography are utilized to evaluate patients for vertebral artery occlusion, stenosis, or other related vascular abnormalities. 2

Occlusion of the vertebral artery can cause ischemia in the lateral medulla, while intracranial vertebral artery occlusion can result in hemimedullary infarction affecting both lateral and medial medullary structures. 2

Coverage and utilization context

The diagnosis code I65.02 appears in a Medicare billing and coding article for non-invasive cerebrovascular arterial studies, distinguishing it from bilateral vertebral artery occlusion codes. 3

Documentation considerations

The official terminology record for I65.02 specifies the preferred name as occlusion and stenosis of the left vertebral artery, and a Medicare billing article lists this code adjacent to bilateral vertebral artery codes. 1 3

What the sources add

The terminology source provides the official code hierarchy and active status, the clinical source details the vascular anatomy and imaging evaluation, and the Medicare source lists the code within a billing article. 1 2 3

The terminology record establishes the exact code definition and semantic type, whereas the Medicare billing article places the code into an operational list alongside other specific vertebral artery occlusion codes. 1 3

Sources

1. ICD-10-CM I65.02 terminology record — National Cancer Institute Enterprise Vocabulary Services; accessed 2026-07-27.
2. Bookshelf — ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
3. Article - Billing and Coding: Non-Invasive Cerebrovascular Arterial Studies (A52992) — cms.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.