Cardiovascular Anesthesia: The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Its Journal, and New Opportunities

Abstract

In 1978 the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) was founded with 140 charter members. By 1994 membership had grown to more than 4,000. At that time, a novel approach was initiated to promote one of the central aims of both the SCA and the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS)—to acknowledge the overall importance of cardiovascular anesthesia within the “scientific province” of all anesthesiologists (1). This approach involved a joint venture by both societies in Anesthesia & Analgesia. The wide readership, high quality, and solid reputation of the oldest English language anesthesia journal in the world was deemed best suited to foster the development of subspecialty literature within a comprehensive journal in the field of anesthesiology. A new position of Editor-in-Chief for Cardiovascular Anesthesia, first occupied by J. Gerald Reves, MD, was created with the mandate that the individual serving in this role be a member of the SCA. Today, the SCA has approximately 7,200 members representing 65 countries! This growth has paralleled an evolution in the surgical treatments of diverse congenital and acquired cardiovascular and thoracic diseases. It can be legitimately argued that the widespread applications of these surgical interventions in patients with significant cardiopulmonary disease would not have been possible without the specialized skills of physicians providing perioperative anesthesiology and critical care services. Anesthesiologists with special interest and skill in managing cardiovascular or thoracic surgical patients will be continually challenged with new technologies, new procedures, and an increasingly complex patient population. To better address these growing challenges faced by its readers, the SCA and IARS have strengthened their decade long relationship as partners in the sponsorship of Anesthesia & Analgesia. This reflects further progress in developing the Cardiovascular Anesthesia Section of the journal into a “journal within a journal” that serves as an international forum for disseminating new information that will help cardiovascular subspecialists and others to effectively address the needs of their patients. To acknowledge the growing importance of Anesthesia & Analgesia as the official journal of the SCA, a new Assistant Associate Editor for Cardiovascular Anesthesia position has been added to complement and assist the Associate Editor-in-Chief, Cardiovascular Anesthesia. Furthermore, beginning with the March 2004 issue, the Cardiovascular Section of each journal issue now has a distinct masthead page reflecting the contributions of individuals who support the peer review process for this “journal within a journal,” work done predominantly by SCA members. In addition, two new publication formats have been developed: Pro/Con type editorials addressing issues relevant to cardiovascular anesthesia, and a new section entitled “Echo Rounds,” which will soon appear as a one-page case presentation accompanied by an echocardiographic figure that will be available on the online version of Anesthesia & Analgesia (www.anesthesia-analgesia.org). The submission requirements for these new publication categories are outlined in the journal’s Guide for Authors. These changes have evolved from important, continual dialogue between the SCA and the IARS and reflect the next stage of growth and development for the Cardiovascular Anesthesia section of Anesthesia & Analgesia, which has increased in size, quality, and features over the past few years. We remain fundamentally committed to high standards of independent peer review and to publication of high quality research and important medical information. We look forward to the implementation of these new publication formats that will provide increased opportunities for authors and help our readers to address the challenges presented by patients with cardiovascular disease.