News from the European Heart Journal: Bold Steps Towards an Even Brighter Future with an Increased Impact Factor

The European Heart Journal (http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/) continues to surge ahead. In recent years, the Journal has launched several novel improvements. The new editorial team at the Zurich Heart House under leadership of Prof. Thomas F. Lüscher, Editor-in-Chief, has implemented a new, innovative strategy [1], including the creation of a prestigious international editorial team with associate editors on all continents.

Additionally, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Journal Family was established to ensure efficient transfer of manuscripts from the main journal to any of the specialty journals [2]. The overall EHJ strategy is rounded out by CardioPulse, a new section in the Journal dealing with highly topical issues affecting global cardiology, cutting edge Clinical Review articles solicited from key opinion leaders around the world, My Cardio Interviews, a series of incisive video interviews showcasing leading trials presented at key cardiology congresses worldwide, and a more refined internet platform—these are all just a few of the new features which have contributed significantly to the EHJ’s success. A further enhancement now enables readers worldwide access to the EHJ through iPad and iPhone applications (Figure 1).

These efforts have prompted an ever increasing number of papers submitted to the European Heart Journal, which now receives some 3,800 annually, and, in turn, it has also led a further increase in the impact factor to 10.478 (Figure 2). The deputy editors are proud of this increase in impact factor and highly appreciate the contributions of all associate editors and reviewers who have helped make this a reality [3].

The new strategy for 2013 to 2015 will involve weekly publication of the European Heart Journal, beginning in January 2013 [4]. The number of original research papers published will remain the same, but there will be an increase in educational products such as Editorials, Clinical Review articles and Current Opinions, as well as additional publications from ESC task forces and working groups. This strategy will enable us to further promote the visibility of the European Heart Journal and achieve publication schedules similar to those of the other premier journals—Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Further, this will also reduce time for print publication by one week and allow us to attract more and higher quality papers for consideration.