Public interest in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in the United Kingdom, 2004-2026: a Google Trends infodemiology study

Background: Public and clinical attention to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) has increased, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. We quantified changes in United Kingdom Google search interest and examined whether searches increasingly used diagnostic and self-assessment language. Methods: We extracted monthly Google Trends relative search volume (RSV; 0-100) for the Health-category search term 'Pots syndrome' in the United Kingdom from January 2004 through July 2026. Five extraction attempts were made; two returned complete, identical monthly series and were retained. Prespecified eras were summarised and an exploratory interrupted time-series model at March 2020 used ordinary least squares with Newey-West heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent standard errors (12 lags). Comparator searches included conventional orthostatic diagnoses, POTS diagnostic terms, associated conditions and YouTube searches. Results: The primary series comprised 271 complete months. Mean RSV increased from 18.6 during 2015-2019 to 64.8 during 2022-2023 (3.49-fold) and remained 50.6 during January 2024-July 2026 (2.73-fold above baseline). Search interest peaked in October 2022 (RSV 100); July 2026 RSV was 57. The interrupted time-series model estimated an immediate March 2020 level increase of 21.8 points (95% CI 2.8-40.7; p=0.024), while the slope change was not statistically supported (0.069 points/month, 95% CI 0.299 to 0.438; p=0.713). Searches for 'POTS symptoms', 'POTS test' and 'POTS heart rate' increased more steeply than the general term, although low baseline volumes made fold changes unstable. Conclusions: UK Google search interest in POTS rose before 2020, increased sharply after the pandemic began, and remained substantially above its prepandemic baseline. The results demonstrate a sustained change in public attention, not disease incidence or social-media causation. The growth of symptom- and testing-oriented searches is compatible with increased diagnostic self-investigation and warrants linkage to referral, diagnosis and social-media exposure data.