Google Trends Insights Into Reduced Acute Coronary Syndrome Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiology
Conor Senecal1, Rajiv Gulati1, Amir Lerman1
1Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States.
Insights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online searches for chest pain surged, while heart attack searches declined. This suggests people may have avoided emergency rooms, impacting acute coronary syndrome (ACS) reporting.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology and Public Health
Background:
- A notable decrease in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) presentations occurred globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It remains unclear if this reflects reduced ACS incidence or fewer emergency room visits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between online search trends for chest pain and the reported decline in ACS cases.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Google Trends data from June 2019 to May 2020 for search terms: "chest pain," "myocardial infarction," "cough," and "fever."
- Analyzed related queries to assess their connection to coronary heart disease.
Main Results:
- Chest pain searches increased by at least 34% across studied countries post-pandemic onset.
- Searches for "myocardial infarction" decreased or stayed constant, while COVID-19 symptom searches (cough, fever) initially rose then normalized.
- Elevated chest pain searches included terms like "coronavirus chest pain" and "home remedies for chest pain."
Conclusions:
- Increased online searches for chest pain and related home care suggest patients may be avoiding emergency rooms.
- This avoidance behavior could explain the observed decrease in acute coronary syndrome presentations during the pandemic.
Background:
During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a reduction in the presentation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been noted in several countries. However, whether these trends reflect a reduction in ACS incidence or a decrease in emergency room visits is unknown. Using Google Trends, queries for chest pain that have previously been shown to closely correlate with coronary heart disease were compared with searches for myocardial infarction and COVID-19 symptoms.
Objective:
The current study evaluates if search terms (or topics) pertaining to chest pain symptoms correlate with the reported decrease in presentations of ACS.
Methods:
Google Trends data for search terms "chest pain," "myocardial infarction," "cough," and "fever" were obtained from June 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020. Related queries were evaluated for a relationship to coronary heart disease.
Results:
Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, chest pain searches increased in all countries studied by at least 34% (USA P=.003, Spain P=.007, UK P=.001, Italy P=.002), while searches for myocardial infarction dropped or remained unchanged. Rising searches for chest pain included "coronavirus chest pain," "home remedies for chest pain," and "natural remedies for chest pain." Searches on COVID-19 symptoms (eg, cough, fever) rose initially but returned to baseline while chest pain-related searches remained elevated throughout May.
Conclusions:
Search engine queries for chest pain have risen during the pandemic as have related searches with alternative attribution for chest pain or home care for chest pain, suggesting that recent drops in ACS presentations may be due to patients avoiding the emergency room and potential treatment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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