Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among Americans. Heart disease can lead to heart failure, and approximately 6.2 million Americans are currently living with heart failure.
Which recent pharmaceutical developments and influencers living with the condition have been sources of hope for those with the condition?
The Trends Section provides an overview of some of the most recent and relevant topics that relate to particular health conditions.
It features a selection of the topics that have the fastest growing Google search interest across the last three months, and reflects the inquiries of patients, healthcare providers, scientists, and others who are invested in the topic.
This is valuable to understand people’s interests and concerns at the present moment, and often include the U.S. states that have the highest interest in a topic.
Quilt.AI brings these trends to life through an analysis that incorporates both cultural and scientific lenses.
Search interest for 2022 heart failure guidelines grew by 251% over the last 3 months, from March 2022 to May 2022, with a particular spike in April when the guidelines were announced.
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People searching for heart failure showed increased interest towards “2022 heart failure guidelines“ in the past 3 months, likely a result of the new guidelines for the management of heart failure jointly published by the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society of America.
The guidelines aim to provide comprehensive and patient-centric recommendations for the prevention and management of heart failure, one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally.
The Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM) is a risk calculator used by healthcare providers knowledgeable in cardiac medicine to assess projected survival among patients with heart failure, both at baseline and after interventions. It is a widely used model that is considered reliable as it uses 20 variables that combine clinical, laboratory and therapeutic data.
It is notoriously difficult to predict the risk of mortality associated with chronic heart failure. While guidelines online state that patients should only use SHFM when their healthcare providers are present – such as at a doctor's office – search queries such as “Seattle heart failure model app” and “Seattle heart failure model risk score” reflect an intent to self-diagnose.
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Search interest for seattle heart failure model grew by 50% over the last 3 months, from April 2022 to June 2022.
Search interest for is heart failure reversible grew by 32% over the last 3 months, from April 2022 to June 2022.
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Inquiries about whether heart failure is reversible have been increasing over the past three months. Heart failure is a serious condition that impairs the functioning of the heart muscle and typically gets progressively worse over time. However, certain cases can be reversed with treatments that can relieve symptoms, and stop or slow the condition from worsening.
Options do exist for correcting heart failure, including surgeries to replace a faulty valve or to implant a pacemaker, as well as medications to help improve the function of one’s heart. These inquiries reveal people’s interest in addressing this condition.
Other searches for “reversing congestive heart failure naturally” show a greater inclination towards making lifestyle adjustments through exercising and dietary improvements to prevent heart failures in the future.
People who have searched for heart failure are also searching for signs of heart attack in women, and this suggests that women who have had a heart attack are concerned about receiving a diagnosis of heart failure. A heart attack (or ‘myocardial infarction’) occurs when an artery that sends oxygenated blood to the heart becomes blocked. This can quickly and irreversibly damage the heart muscle, and is a life-threatening medical emergency. Heart attacks can lead to heart failure as they weaken the heart muscle’s ability to pump blood. In some cases, heart failure can come on suddenly after a heart attack.
There has been a gradual increase of searches for symptoms of heart attack in women over the past three months, especially in Arkansas, Indiana and West Virginia. Although heart attacks do not discriminate when it comes to gender, symptoms in women are usually more vague than in men, with common symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
These searches generally skew towards women aged 35 to 44, indicating a greater interest in awareness and prevention in this age bracket. Despite an increase in awareness about heart disease over the past decade, studies have shown that only half of U.S. women are aware that such conditions are the number one causes of death among them.
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Search interest for signs of heart attack in women grew by 81% over the last 3 months, from April 2022 to June 2022.
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Search interest for CHF lung sounds grew by 23% over the last 3 months, from April 2022 to June 2022.
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Lung sounds provide important information in order to distinguish normal respiratory sounds from abnormal ones. Sounds such as crackles, wheezes, or pleural rub can all point to different diagnoses and treatment interventions.
Crackling (also known as ‘rales’) are intermittent sounds audible during inhalation, which occur as a result of small airways suddenly snapping open. They may indicate that a patient’s lungs have fluid inside them, or are not inflating correctly.
Although causes of crackling can be attributed to multiple conditions from pneumonia and pulmonary edema to bronchitis, crackling heard over the lung bases are characteristic of heart failure - of at least moderate severity. Crackling does not necessarily indicate heart failure, but if one has heart failure, crackling lung sounds will be present.
Since coughing, wheezing and difficulties breathing are common symptoms of heart failure, an increase in searches towards CHF lung sounds is likely an indication of people’s interest in identifying symptoms and seeking early treatment when necessary.
The Culture Section highlights emerging cultural trends, new products, and notable dialogue about a variety of health conditions. The purpose of this section is to zoom in on what has been happening within the cultural and professional landscape of a particular health condition–stories that are often missed by quantitative searches.
By featuring influential social media items, patient discourse, professional dialogue, product innovations, and impactful news items, this section illuminates the lived experiences of many patients, while also providing a snapshot of the developments happening around them.
Here, Quilt.AI offers a detailed and nuanced perspective of what is new and what is meaningful.
People searching for heart failure are also inquiring about whether one can die from a broken heart. Searches for “can you die from a broken heart” and “broken heart syndrome” have been up (+400% and +250%, respectively, over the past three months). Searches surged on May 26 and 27 after news of the death of Joe Garcia, who died two days after the Uvalde school massacre, where his wife was killed.
This tragic news item has increased people’s inquiries about the syndrome (also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress-induced cardiomyopathy), which can occur when someone has experienced an extremely stressful event. Discussions about it have been taken up by popular physicians on social media like Dr. Joe, a California-based emergency room physician whose TikTok video about it has been viewed over 28K times.
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New York-based heart failure patient, fashionista, and TikTok influencer, Chevonne (@thiswellplannedlife) is a force in the heart condition community on social media, and her account currently has 100K followers and 3.6M likes. Her June 6 video that chronicles a day of medical appointments–done in ‘a day in the life of’ style–gives us a glimpse into her reality, and it already has over 119K views.
This video and others walk us through her appointments and procedures, documenting her emotions and frustrations, as well as the coping skills she employs. She often brings a beauty and fashion angle, discussing what she wears to appointments and showing herself putting on makeup and getting ready. These rituals reflect just as much about her individual personality as they reveal what getting through a challenging day looks like: she effectively brings her best face forward.
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Self-proclaimed ‘heart failure fighter,’ fitness expert, and social media star Jordan Clark (@therealjordanclark) has racked up more than 507K followers and 5.4M likes with his videos that feature personal health updates, diagnostic procedures, and the regular ups and downs of his condition. This Texas-based health influencer also documents the ongoing emotional impact of his diagnosis, his medications, and sometimes his feelings of disconnect from doctors who lack empathy.
His coping strategies include using his faith and relying on his growing online community for support. His recent video that gives a heart failure update has been viewed over 878.1K times, and demonstrates that people can become quite invested in the health and wellbeing of social media personalities they follow.
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The global brand DietDoctor has recently released a popular YouTube video exploring whether ketones benefit heart failure patients, and it has already been viewed over 14K times. This video features California cardiologist Dr. Bret Scher discussing a recent study that reported that exogenous ketones (supplements) improved heart function for critically ill patients with heart failure. He discusses the implications of this finding for treating heart failure with supplements and diet.
This video taps into a larger, popular discussion around diet modification to address heart failure (and heart health overall), One particular hot topic is the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet that promotes extremely low-carb eating, which has been the subject of much debate.
Searches for “jardiance for heart failure” have been up 70% over the past three months, and talk about it has increased on social media. This is explained by the FDA’s February 24 approval of Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s drug Jardiance (empagliflozin) to treat adults with heart failure. What is notable is that the drug is indicated for those who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (or HFpEF, a condition with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options). It has been speculated that this drug works by making it easier for the heart to pump blood throughout the body.
Already established as an anti-diabetic medication, Jardiance has demonstrated safety and tolerability profiles, and is considered an affordable drug for most who need to access it in the U.S. Many professional healthcare societies and practitioners have tweeted about this development.
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