TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of vice president cheney on public interest in left ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation
AU - Pandey, Ambarish
AU - Abdullah, Kazeen
AU - Drazner, Mark H.
PY - 2014/5/1
Y1 - 2014/5/1
N2 - Although celebrity illnesses attract a significant amount of media attention in the United States, there are few studies that have looked at how celebrity health conditions impact the awareness of the illness in the general population. Recently, Vice President Cheney underwent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and subsequently a cardiac transplant. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was evidence of increased interest in these 2 procedures as assessed by social media. We determined the relative frequency of Google searches for LVAD and heart transplantation from 2004 to 2013 using Google trends. We also counted the number of YouTube videos and Twitter messages posted monthly concerning LVADs over a 7-year time frame. There was a significant spike in the Google search interest for LVAD and heart transplantation in the month when Vice President Cheney underwent the respective procedure. Similarly, there was a large increase in YouTube videos and Twitter messages concerning LVADs shortly after he was implanted. In total, these data support the concept that a public figure's illness can significantly influence the public's interest in that condition and its associated therapies.
AB - Although celebrity illnesses attract a significant amount of media attention in the United States, there are few studies that have looked at how celebrity health conditions impact the awareness of the illness in the general population. Recently, Vice President Cheney underwent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and subsequently a cardiac transplant. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was evidence of increased interest in these 2 procedures as assessed by social media. We determined the relative frequency of Google searches for LVAD and heart transplantation from 2004 to 2013 using Google trends. We also counted the number of YouTube videos and Twitter messages posted monthly concerning LVADs over a 7-year time frame. There was a significant spike in the Google search interest for LVAD and heart transplantation in the month when Vice President Cheney underwent the respective procedure. Similarly, there was a large increase in YouTube videos and Twitter messages concerning LVADs shortly after he was implanted. In total, these data support the concept that a public figure's illness can significantly influence the public's interest in that condition and its associated therapies.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amjcard.2014.02.007
DO - 10.1016/j.amjcard.2014.02.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 24630787
AN - SCOPUS:84898915956
SN - 0002-9149
VL - 113
SP - 1529
EP - 1531
JO - American Journal of Cardiology
JF - American Journal of Cardiology
IS - 9
ER -