Understanding myocardial infarction trends during the early COVID-19 pandemic: an infodemiology study

Omar Dzaye1,2,3, Matthias Duebgen3, Philipp Berning1

  • 1Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Insights

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online searches for chest pain increased while interest in myocardial infarction decreased. This shift may explain rising cardiovascular deaths despite fewer acute coronary syndrome hospitalizations.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Digital Epidemiology

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered public health behaviors and healthcare seeking.
  • Early pandemic trends indicated potential shifts in attention towards specific health concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze search engine query trends for chest pain and myocardial infarction during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To investigate the relationship between public attention to chest pain and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) hospitalizations and cardiovascular mortality.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Google Trends data from the United States for early 2020.
  • Correlated search query frequencies with hospitalization rates for ACS and cardiovascular mortality data.

Main Results:

  • Observed a significant increase in Google searches for "chest pain" during early 2020.
  • Noted a concurrent decrease in search interest for "myocardial infarction".
  • These trends suggest a potential diversion of public attention away from critical cardiac symptoms like chest pain, a key indicator of ACS.

Conclusions:

  • The reduced public focus on chest pain and myocardial infarction during the pandemic may have contributed to increased cardiovascular mortality.
  • Understanding public attention shifts during health crises is crucial for targeted public health interventions and managing cardiovascular events.

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