The European Heart Journal on the move: can scientific publishing be further improved?

Abstract

Every activity needs a strategy—and publishing is no exception to the rule. When the current editorial team had the privilege to manage the flagship of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the European Heart Journal , in 2009, an initial and ambitious strategy was implemented.1 The strategy included (i) the nomination of deputy and associate editors from around the world (‘going global’); (ii) the creation of the ESC Journal Family with manuscript transfer (‘l'union fait la force’); (iii) improved readability of the journal with the introduction of CardioPulse, invited reviews, and editorials with high quality illustrations (‘reading must be fun’); (iv) shorter turnaround time for manuscripts of first decision (currently 22 days) and expansion of the FAST TRACK expedited review process to both the ESC Hotline Sessions and basic science papers (‘fast and innovative’); and (v) introduction of novel electronic features (i.e. iPad and iPhone versions, and new media features, i.e. My Cardio Interview of hotline presenters, among others; ‘modern and young’ ( Table 1 ). View this table: Table 1 New features introduced in the European Heart Journal 2009–2011 and as of 2012 Thanks to the help of our editors, editorial board members, and numerous reviewers, as well as the continued support of the board of the ESC, the major aims of the initial strategy were accomplished. Indeed, the journal has received an increasing number of manuscripts (with 3800 submissions expected this year), transferred a growing number of suitable papers to the specialty journals (currently ∼500 per year), published a large number of Hotline papers presented at the ESC Annual Congress, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, or the American College of Cardiology, and is present at national and specialty congresses with its ‘Best of the EHJ Sessions’. Furthermore, its revamped homepage is widely visited, papers and guidelines are downloaded in large numbers, and …