Contemporary Cardiovascular Imaging Advancements and Social Media

Abstract

Purpose of review: Social media (SoMe) as a means of knowledge dissemination has grown significantly in cardiovascular imaging in recent years. This media platform allows for a free exchange of ideas, the development of new communities, and the ability to disseminate advancements rapidly. While the social media platforms offer limitless potential, their public domain necessitates several important suggestions around best practices.

Recent findings: In cardiovascular imaging, specific hashtags have emerged to encompass the major modalities to include #EchoFirst, #YesCCT, #WhyCMR, and #CVNuc. Cardiovascular imaging journals have established major presences in the social media space as an avenue to present novel, high-quality, peer-reviewed content to new audiences.

Summary: This review paper aims to introduce basic concepts in social media and cardiovascular imaging while highlighting recent topics of high importance, influence, and attention in cardiovascular imaging to include the ISCHEMIA trial, COVID-19, structural imaging, and multimodality advances from throughout 2020.

Keywords: Altmetric score; Cardiac imaging; Cardio-oncology; Computed tomography; Echocardiography; Interventional imaging; Magnetic resonance; Nuclear cardiology; Social media.

Fig. 1

Conceptual Model of Publication Cycle and Impact in Cardiovascular Imaging. After imaging research, the publication cycle includes peer-review, editorial review, and finally publication. Social media and Altmetrics enable an understanding of the initial (weeks to months) impact of an article, which may have influence on downloads and citations that are measures of impact that become known after months to years. CV = cardiovascular. Image reproduced with permission from Elsevier. (Choi AD, et al, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging 2020)(6).

Fig. 2

Conceptual Framework of Altmetrics Versus Citations in CV Imaging. To present a novel model for assessing the impact of new research in cardiovascular imaging, articles published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging (n=804) from 2017 to 2019 were stratified in a 2 x 2 contingency table with dots representing an individual article compared with an article’s Altmetrics attention score (AAS) and number of total citations. A normalized z-score was calculated for each metric. The articles were divided into: 1) high-attention, low citation, termed as “shared broadly”; 2) high-attention, high citation termed as “shared broadly and cited”; 3) low attention, low citation termed as “quietly published”; and 4) low attention, high citation termed as “shared and cited with general observations included within the figure. Among the top 100 social media attention articles, AAS median ranged from 36 – 73. Articles with the highest social media attention and highest citations favored original research from prospective studies and the highest quality invited review articles shared by cardiovascular social media influencers with an outstanding reputation in the field coupled with a large social media followings. Image reproduced with permission from Elsevier. (Choi AD, et al, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging 2020)(6).

Fig. 3

Social media analytics of #ISCHEMIA. Social media analytics of the hashtag #ISCHEMIA (Symplur Signals) demonstrated high social media engagement at the time of the initial presentation of the ISCHEMIA (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches) trial results at the American Heart Association conference in November 2019 (Black Arrow) generating over 10,000 individual tweets and retweets on twitter from predominantly medical professionals. The full publication was released in the New England Journal of Medicine in early April 2020 with modest social media attention as assessed through the #ISCHEMIA hashtag (Red Arrow). The NEJM publication release coincided with the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that may have diminished the response to the landmark cardiovascular trial.