The decision to receive a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) represents a challenging experience for patients. However, the majority of previous research has only considered retrospective accounts of patient experiences. This study aimed to use social media data to characterize the information sought by people anticipating or considering CIED implantation and factors that influence their decision-making experiences. A Python-based script was used to collect posts made to a community intended for discussions concerning CIEDs on the social media platform Reddit. Reflexive content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. From 799 posts collected, 101 made by 86 participants were analyzed. The reported median (range) age of participants was 34 (16–67), and most were anticipating or considering a pacemaker. Three overarching categories classified the data: “Use of social media to meet informational and other needs”; “Factors influencing acceptance of the need for implantation”; and “Specific concerns considered during decision-making.” Participants anticipating or considering a CIED predominantly sought experiential information. Among asymptomatic participants, doubts were prevalent, with acceptance being an influential factor in decision-making. Healthcare professionals should recognize the informational and emotional needs of prospective CIED patients and tailor support mechanisms to better facilitate their decision-making.

对于患者来说，接受心脏植入式电子设备 (CIED) 的决定是一次充满挑战的经历。然而，之前的大多数研究只考虑了患者经历的回顾性描述。本研究旨在利用社交媒体数据来描述预期或考虑植入 CIED 的人们寻求的信息以及影响其决策体验的因素。使用基于 Python 的脚本收集在社交媒体平台 Reddit 上讨论 CIED 的社区发布的帖子。使用反思性内容分析来分析收集的数据。从收集的 799 个帖子中，分析了 86 名参与者发布的 101 个帖子。据报道，参与者的中位年龄（范围）为 34 岁（16-67 岁），大多数人期待或考虑使用起搏器。数据分为三个总体类别：“使用社交媒体来满足信息和其他需求”； “影响接受植入需要的因素”；以及“决策过程中考虑的具体问题”。预期或考虑 CIED 的参与者主要寻求经验信息。在无症状的参与者中，疑虑普遍存在，而接受程度是决策的影响因素。医疗保健专业人员应认识到潜在 CIED 患者的信息和情感需求，并定制支持机制以更好地促进他们的决策。