Copyright © 2003 by the European Society of Cardiology.
Editorial
The European Heart Journal—the challenge of the next years
Department of Cardiology, Gasthuisberg University Hospital, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
frans.vandewerf{at}uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Over the last 7 years, under the Editorship of Kim Fox, the European Heart Journal has becomean increasingly important international clinical journal in the field of cardiovascular medicine.
This has been reflected in an increase in the official ISI impact factor from 1.682 in 1995 to 5.131 in 2001, making it the third most important clinical journal in cardiovascular medicine. The increasing impact of the Journal has parallelled the growing importance of the European Society of Cardiology in global cardiovascular medicine today. Both in the domains of research (through its Working Groups and Science Council) and education (through its educational programmes and congresses), theEuropean Society of Cardiology has positioned itself as an equal partner to the American Society of Cardiology and the American Heart Association in the fight against cardiovascular disease.
At this time, I would like to pay tribute to Kim Fox and his colleagues in the London EditorialOffice for having so effectively positioned theJournal at the top of cardiovascular publications. The obligation to maintain that position will be a challenge. We, at the Leuven Editorial Office, are very much committed to trying to further improve and expand the stature and scope of the Journal.
With the change of Editorship, a number of changes to the Journal have been introduced or will be introduced over the next months.
- On the first of October 2002, a fully electronic submission and review system was introduced in order to reduce the review time.
- A new Editorial Board has been constituted.We have invited a large number of Europeanand non-European physicians and scientiststo join the Editorial Board in order to providethe necessary expertise and to assure highquality and timely reviews. In addition, we have invited liaising Associate Editors from outside Europe who will help us to promote not only the European Journal ofCardiology, but also the Society within their region.
- A new section has been introduced on preclinical research. We will publish the results of preclinical studies, provided they are important and likely to have an immediate impact on future clinical research.
- Over the next months, we will introduce a fast-track review system with the aim to provide rapid publication of important clinical trialresults.
- All manuscripts which are provisionallyaccepted, will undergo a further review of the statistical methods used.
- On the cover of each issue, we intend topublish a cardiovascular image illustrating new or unusual findings or innovative techniques.
All these changes and new initiatives shouldresult in a further enhancement in the quality of the Journal. However, this requires a partnership, and we realize we remain dependent on attracting authors to submit their best research to the Journal and on our reviewers for rapid, informed andobjective evaluations. We, from our side, shalldo our utmost to provide the best means of communication between authors, reviewers andreaders.
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