One of our main goals upon joining Rev Esp Cardiol was to optimize publication times. To this end, we introduced the preliminary proof (preproof) format to accelerate the availability of articles on PubMed,3 ScienceDirect,4 and the journal's website.5 When an article submitted by the authors in English is accepted for publication, it receives a DOI (digital object identifier) and appears in PubMed in preproof format within approximately 15 days. The interval from acceptance to its formatted publication as an ahead-of-print article is around 40 days. These publication times bring us close to those of the leading cardiovascular scientific journals. Articles submitted in Spanish are typically available on the Rev Esp Cardiol website within around 10 days as a preproof with a DOI. However, indexing on PubMed can take around 60 days or longer, due to the time required for translation to English, as PubMed indexes only the English version of our journal.

In total, 450 original articles were submitted in 2024. After the decline observed in the first 2 years following the COVID-19 pandemic, submissions have returned to prepandemic levels (figure 1). The acceptance rate for original articles was approximately 15% (figure 2), while the average review time was 16 days, very similar to that of previous years. This is an excellent timeframe, and we extend our gratitude to our reviewers for their commitment to Rev Esp Cardiol. A list of the reviewers who collaborated with Rev Esp Cardiol in 2024 is shown in table 1, and a list of the elite reviewers in table 2.

Figure 1.

Number of original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol for assessment, 2016-2024.

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Figure 2.

Editorial decisions on original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol for assessment, 2016-2024.

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Unlike original articles, the number of scientific letters submitted has increased slightly but has not yet returned to prepandemic levels (figure 3). We consider the scientific letter an excellent format for publishing hypothesis-generating research that lacks the depth or length required for an original article. As editors, we offer authors the option to submit certain original articles as scientific letters when they are suitable for this format but cannot be published in Rev Esp Cardiol as an original article. We hope this alternative is well received by authors.

Figure 3.

Number of scientific letters submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol for assessment, 2016-2024.

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In August 2024, we launched the new Rev Esp Cardiol website,5 a key project from this editorial team.2 The updated design enhances both user experience and article readability. It features a side menu that improves navigation and provides easy access to the index, tables, figures, and other relevant content. In addition, the journal maintains a strong presence on social media through the REC Publications accounts on X6 and Facebook7 (22 500 and 11 000 followers, respectively), as well as on the SEC's Instagram8 and LinkedIn9 accounts. At the end of 2024, REC Publications also launched a profile on Bluesky.10 We encourage cardiologists active on this emerging platform to follow us there. Our thanks are extended to the REC Publications ICT consultant, Juan Quiles, for his valuable work on social media dissemination.

Rev Esp Cardiol remains committed to promoting research among young cardiologists and internal medicine residents (MIRs). In this regard, as part of the SEC article awards, prizes were given for the best article published by a cardiologist aged 40 years or younger and for the best article with a MIR as the first author.11 Collaboration with the SEC's Clinical Case League12 has also continued. This involves offering the authors of the 2 best cases the opportunity to adapt them into a scientific letter format for publication in our journal, accompanied by an editorial comment from an expert in the field.

In 2024, we continued publishing expert review articles,13–19 special articles,20–26 and national registries covering the activity in interventional cardiology, ablation, pacemaker implantation, defibrillator implantation, and heart transplantation.27–31 Once again, we produced a special issue containing all the presentations from the 2024 SEC Congress held in Bilbao.32

In the most recent edition of the Journal Citation Reports, the impact factor (IF) of Rev Esp Cardiol achieved a historic record of 7.2 (figure 4). The journal ranks 24th out of 222 in the cardiovascular category. It is positioned at the upper end of the first quartile and just 2 places away from the first decile, with self-citations below 10%—an all-time low. These are undoubtedly very satisfactory results.

Figure 4.

Impact factor for Rev Esp Cardiol, 2019-2023.

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Although being an imperfect indicator of a journal's quality, IF is the most widely recognized. Its final value can be influenced by factors that are difficult to control. For example, in this latest IF, the Spanish translation of the PRISMA guidelines for reporting reviews and meta-analyses, published in 2021, generated a large number of citations.33 The second most frequently cited article was a review on survival analyses in cardiovascular research by Rossello et al.34 Between 2021 and 2023, articles related to COVID-19 and the Spanish translations of the European clinical practice guidelines and the PRISMA guidelines33 contributed to boosting the IF of Rev Esp Cardiol. However, these factors will not affect the 2024 IF, which is set to be announced in 2025. The editorial team views this future scenario as an opportunity to more accurately assess Rev Esp Cardiol's standing among cardiovascular journals with a strong IF.

The number of original articles received, organized by topic-based categories, is shown in figure 5. Cardiomyopathies and heart failure, together with Epidemiology, risk factors, and prevention account for the largest number of submissions, followed by Ischemic heart disease and Interventional cardiology.

Figure 5.

Original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol for assessment in 2024 by topic-based category.

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Figure 6 shows the original articles submitted, organized by country of origin. Submissions from Spanish authors continue to predominate, but there has been an increase in articles from Asia, mainly China and Korea. The number of articles from European countries has remained stable, at levels similar to previous years. Out of the total of 450 original articles submitted, 347 (77%) were written in English as the primary language, indicating that many Spanish authors choose to submit their work in English.

Figure 6.

Origin of original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol for assessment in 2024.

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The editorial team is deeply grateful for the contributions from Spanish authors, who remain the mainstay of Rev Esp Cardiol. With this in mind, we have asked the Scientific Associations and Sections of the SEC to allow us to be present at their annual meetings. Our aim is to encourage these entities to view Rev Esp Cardiol as the natural platform for publishing their research results, gather suggestions and feedback, and discuss the impact of articles related to their specific fields on the journal. We are very pleased with the positive response to this initiative and plan to attend all annual meetings.

In 2024, the commemorative video “Revista Española de Cardiología: 75 años en el corazón de la investigación cardiovascular” (“Revista Española de Cardiología: 75 years at the heart of cardiovascular research”) was released to celebrate the journal's 75th anniversary.35 This colloquium brought together the journal's editors-in-chief since the 1990s (Francisco Fernández-Avilés, Xavier Bosch, Fernando Alfonso, Ignacio Ferreira, and Juan Sanchis) to reflect on the journal's development, as well as its past, present, and future challenges. We would like to thank the editorial office (especially Iria del Río and Belén Juan) and the SEC audiovisual team (José Luis Vázquez) for their tremendous effort and dedication in preparing and producing this piece, which aims to document the success of Rev Esp Cardiol. We encourage anyone with an interest in the world of scientific publishing to watch this colloquium.35

REC: CardioClinics36 and REC: Interventional Cardiology37 continue to advance journey in the competitive field of cardiovascular journals. It is essential that Spanish cardiologists keep these journals in mind. REC: Interventional Cardiology has firmly established its IF within the cardiovascular journal category, and its next goal is to be indexed in Medline. Meanwhile, REC: CardioClinics is receiving an increasing number of submissions and is currently awaiting assessment for indexing in the Web of Science.

Rev Esp Cardiol faces the ongoing challenge of positioning itself among the top cardiovascular journals in the coming years. Cardiovascular research in Spain plays an essential role in achieving this goal. We wish to highlight the mutual commitment between Rev Esp Cardiol and Spanish cardiologists and to express our gratitude for the unwavering support of the SEC and its executive committees. Together, we must continue to promote and strengthen excellence in cardiovascular research in Spain.

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