Boston Scientific and Baidu Index Release '2022 Cardiovascular Health Trends Report', Highlighting Youth Engagement, Prevention, and Chronic Disease Management

Focus on the new trends of younger demographics, prevention-oriented approaches, and living with illness; advocate for whole-course disease management.

ShanghaiSeptember 29, 2022PR Newswire -- Today marks the 23rd World Heart Day. Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), a global leader in innovative medical technology, has officially released the "2022 Cardio-Cerebrovascular Health Trend Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") in collaboration with Baidu Index. Under the academic guidance of the Health Communication Research Group at Tsinghua University's Center for International Communication and supported by The Physician Newspaper, the Report focuses on two major diseases within cardio-cerebrovascular conditions—coronary heart disease and stroke. By combining big data insights from Baidu Index with expert analysis, it identifies gaps in disease awareness through data-driven empowerment and provides specific recommendations for comprehensive disease management.

Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases are common ailments among middle-aged and elderly people over 50, characterized by high prevalence, high disability rates, and high mortality. The latest data from the National Cardiovascular Center shows that there are approximately 330 million people in China currently suffering from cardiovascular diseases, including 13 million with stroke and 11.39 million with coronary heart disease. Faced with such a highly prevalent and dangerous disease, it is urgent to dispel public misconceptions about coronary heart disease and stroke in order to save more lives. Professor Xiguang Li, Director of the Center for International Communication Studies at Tsinghua University, stated that the "14th Five-Year Plan" for National Health proposed to carry out in-depth publicity and education on health knowledge to improve residents' health literacy. It is believed that the release of this Report will provide strong guidance for enhancing the public's awareness of prevention and response capabilities for coronary heart disease and stroke.

As the data support provider for this "Report," Dr. Yue Yanxiang, head of Baidu Index, stated: "Baidu Index is based on the massive data from Baidu's search and content service ecosystem, and driven by Baidu's AI technology that continuously evolves. It has prominent features such as big data, long-term cycles, strong intent, and comprehensive user profiling, making it applicable across a wide range of fields. This collaboration with Boston Scientific focuses on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which are highly prevalent among the Chinese population. We hope that by combining Baidu Index's data capabilities with professional analysis, we can authentically present the current level of public attention and trends regarding cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health in China. By leveraging the power of technology for good, we aim to open new avenues for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in China, contributing to the improvement of quality of life and health welfare for our society."

Ms. Zhang Jun, President of Boston Scientific Greater China, stated: "Boston Scientific has always been making unremitting efforts to meet the diverse diagnosis and treatment needs of cardiovascular patients in China. By continuously introducing innovative medical solutions, we are constantly filling the technical gaps in clinical diagnosis and treatment in China, helping to reduce the burden of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases for patients in China. The release of this 'Report' has given us a clearer understanding of netizens' current awareness of coronary heart disease and stroke, providing important support for our continued collaboration with partners from all sectors to carry out health education and jointly build a healthier future for China."

NetizenAttention shows a trend of becoming younger; attention in third- and fourth-tier cities needs improvement.

To enhance the health literacy of the entire population, it is essential to adhere to the principle of being guided by public health needs. In order to effectively carry out health education and disease prevention work, the "Report" uses Baidu Index search big data from June 2021 to May 2022 as a sample, providing a comprehensive overview of the current demographics of internet users who are concerned about coronary heart disease and stroke.

The Report Shows: In terms of gender characteristics, women pay more attention to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health; in terms of age characteristics, the overall attention of netizens presents a younger trend, especially the 18-24 age group shows the highest concern for coronary heart disease and stroke; in terms of regional distribution, the attention to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health is relatively low in third- and fourth-tier cities. The northeastern region ranks at the bottom in terms of attention to coronary heart disease and stroke, indicating an urgent need to raise awareness.

On this basis, the "Report" also conducted an in-depth analysis of netizens who are concerned about coronary heart disease and stroke. Starting from their interests, hobbies, and occupations, it derived a more refined "persona" and presented a more multi-dimensional view of the different aspects of the netizen group that pays attention to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health. It is hoped that these unexpected characteristics can bring new inspiration for more efficiently improving the health literacy of the entire population.

Severe Symptoms, Light Prevention: Three Misconceptions in Netizens' Attention

Analyzing the characteristics of netizens concerned about coronary heart disease and stroke is only the first step in understanding the public's awareness of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health. To further clarify netizens' level of awareness about coronary heart disease and stroke, the Report conducted horizontal and vertical comparisons of netizens' depth of understanding of these conditions, uncovering three significant cognitive misconceptions.

First, after comparing the search data of coronary heart disease and stroke with other common diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, the Report found that although coronary heart disease and stroke are highly dangerous and frequently occur, they do not rank high in terms of search volume among common diseases. Particularly, there is a significant gap in the search attention given to stroke, indicating that netizens' awareness and concern for both coronary heart disease and stroke need improvement.

Secondly, the Report found that when netizens search for coronary heart disease and stroke, they pay less attention to the prevention of these two types of diseases, and the search volume is significantly lower than in areas such as treatment and rehabilitation after symptoms appear.

Finally, the Report found that netizens often confuse the colloquial terms with professional expressions when searching for diseases, especially in the search for stroke, showing a vague understanding of the types of stroke and being unclear about the relationship between "cerebral infarction" and "stroke". This can easily lead to deviations when netizens actively search for popular science information. To address this, the Report distinguished between the two categories of stroke and popularized the main symptoms of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.

"Living with Disease"AchievementNormal State, the public needs moreEmphasize Full-course Disease Management

The construction of "Healthy China" explicitly proposes a shift from "disease treatment-centered" to "health-centered" approach, moving the focus of maintaining people's health forward to improve the quality of life of the populace. To better cultivate public awareness of protecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, the Report analyzes the current concerns of netizens regarding coronary heart disease and stroke, while also providing guidance on the full-course management of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases—namely, the stages of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Lifestyle intervention and risk factor prevention and control are the key to the cardiovascular disease prevention and control system. To this end, the "Report" introduces prevention and control standards that are easy to learn and highly practical, calling on everyone to start from daily life to stay away from the "time bomb" of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

In the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease treatment, which is of most concern to netizens, the Report summarized three new trends: first,Diversified Drug Therapy，The current medical advancements have provided more effective drug options for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; secondly,Minimally Invasive Surgery, which integrates the cross-disciplinary advantages of internal and external medicine, with minimal trauma, good results, and fast recovery, minimally invasive interventional therapy has become the preferred treatment for cardiovascular diseases; third,Disease Prevention, especially for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation, the European Society of Cardiology had already proposed a comprehensive prevention and treatment system in 2020, which includes common improvement methods such as taking medication, as well as preventive procedures like left atrial appendage occlusion and radiofrequency ablation, helping patients摆脱终身服药或无法用药的困扰.

Regarding the often-neglected rehabilitation phase, the Report emphasizes the concept of "living with illness." Currently, China's average life expectancy is 77.93 years, while the average healthy life expectancy is only 68.7 years, meaning people will spend over nine years in a state of "living with illness." On how to improve the quality of life during this "living with illness" phase, the Report calls for attention to postoperative rehabilitation for stroke patients. Effective rehabilitation training can reduce patients' functional disabilities, enhance their satisfaction with life, accelerate the recovery process from strokes, and lower potential nursing costs, thereby conserving societal resources.

Zhiyu Zeng, Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Boston Scientific, stated: "Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases are chronic conditions with a long course of illness, prone to recurrence, and often accompanied by severe complications. The release of the 'Report' helps increase societal awareness of the comprehensive management of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. It is hoped that the prevention and treatment recommendations for cardio-cerebrovascular health in the 'Report' will provide new directions for the public's proactive health management, enabling more people to take charge as the 'primary person responsible' for their own health."