Category III code 1139T becomes effective January 1, 2027, giving U.S. physicians and hospitals a dedicated procedure code to report AI ECG analysis for heart attacks
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AI—Powerful Medical, a leader in AI-driven cardiovascular diagnostics, today announced that the American Medical Association (AMA) CPT® Editorial Panel has established a new Category III CPT code, 1139T, for the noninvasive identification of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), STEMI equivalents, and acute or subacute myocardial ischemia by assistive algorithmic analysis of the electrocardiogram (ECG). This is the service performed with Queen of Hearts™, which received FDA De Novo authorization in September 2026. The code takes effect on January 1, 2027.
CPT codes are the common language U.S. physicians and hospitals use to report medical services. The new code opens the path to coverage and reimbursement for AI ECG heart attack detection. From January 1, 2027, physicians and hospitals will have a standard way to report the service, and the resulting claims data is what Medicare and commercial payers use when making coverage and payment decisions. Code 1139T is reported in addition to the standard 12-lead ECG codes (93000, 93005, 93010).
“In September, the FDA authorized Queen of Hearts. From January, U.S. hospitals and physicians will have a dedicated code to report the work it does,” said Felix Bauer, COO and Co-founder of Powerful Medical. “A CPT code is the first step toward coverage and reimbursement, and we are actively working to secure the relevant reimbursement pathways to support adoption across the United States.”
Someone in the United States has a heart attack every 40 seconds, yet up to four in ten acute coronary occlusions do not show the classic ST-elevation pattern that standard ECG criteria rely on. These STEMI equivalents are hard to identify on the first ECG, and treatment can be delayed.
“STEMI equivalents are the heart attacks standard ECG criteria were never designed to find,” said Robert Herman, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Powerful Medical. “Seeing them written into the CPT code set matters to every emergency physician and cardiologist who has watched one of these patients wait.”
Queen of Hearts™ received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation and, in September 2026, De Novo authorization, establishing a new device classification for acute cardiovascular event detection and notification software (21 CFR 870.2390). The technology is backed by more than 20 peer-reviewed studies, including randomized controlled trials, spanning over 40,000 patients across four continents. It helps healthcare professionals identify patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who benefit from urgent cardiologist activation and potentially early cardiac catheterization.
Queen of Hearts™ is now available to U.S. hospitals through the PMcardio for Organizations platform, which integrates with existing hospital IT infrastructure. For more information, visit www.powerfulmedical.com.
About Powerful Medical
Powerful Medical is leading the AI revolution in cardiology, making expert-level cardiac diagnosis available to every patient, regardless of where they present. Its platform, PMcardio, embeds AI ECG models that detect acute heart attacks (Queen of Hearts™, FDA-authorized and CE-marked) and, in the EU, heart failure, structural heart disease, and 40+ other cardiac conditions. PMcardio is used by more than 100,000 clinicians across hospitals, EMS, and cardiac centers worldwide.
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