This year once again, we are pleased to share with the readers of Revista Española de Cardiología (Rev Esp Cardiol) an overview of our publication's recent activity, developments, and advances.

After a peak in manuscript submissions and a subsequent decline between 2020 and 2022 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, submission numbers have been on an upward course since 2023.1 This trend was particularly evident in 2025 when over 900 manuscripts were received for consideration (figure 1). This increase is excellent news for Rev Esp Cardiol and a source of great satisfaction for the editorial team. The rise in submissions has also extended to the other journals in the REC Publications portfolio, REC: CardioClinics2 and REC: Interventional Cardiology,3 which we take as a sign of the rising appeal of journals under our editorial brand.4 Submissions of original articles across all 3 journals reached a record high in 2025, with 642 manuscripts received (figure 2).

Figure 1.

Manuscripts submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol, 2016-2025.

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Figure 2.

Original articles submitted for evaluation to the REC Publications journals, 2017-2025.

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Effectively handling this volume of manuscripts requires the support of dedicated reviewers who are professional, efficient, and impartial. Rev Esp Cardiol is fortunate to count on an editorial committee and a large number of collaborators who generously contribute their time and experience to our publication; we are deeply grateful for their efforts (table 1). Their responsiveness and rapid turnaround in 2025 have remained outstanding, enabling us to further reduce the time to first decision. Overall, the average review time was under 10 days—a remarkable accomplishment, especially considering the growing number of submissions. Reviewers whose exceptional contributions merited the 2025 elite reviewer honor are listed in table 2.

As the available space in our journal remains constant at 12 issues per year, the growing number of submissions requires editors to be highly selective in determining which manuscripts are published. In 2025, the overall acceptance rate was somewhat lower than in previous years (21% compared with 26% in 2024). Indeed, if we focus on the 541 original articles for which a final decision was reached in 2025, only 12% were accepted (figure 3). However, as the leading journal within the REC publications family, we can often provide authors with the option (figure 4) to transfer manuscripts that are not accepted to our sister journals, REC: CardioClinics2 and REC: Interventional Cardiology.3

Figure 3.

Editorial decisions on original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol, 2016-2025.

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Figure 4.

Transfer option for manuscripts rejected by Rev Esp Cardiol to other REC Publications journals, 2016-2025.

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Regarding scientific letters, 2025 confirms the sustained interest of authors in this type of contribution.5 Submissions in this format have steadily increased (126 in 2023, 148 in 2024, and 162 in 2025), accompanied by a rise in accepted manuscripts (48 in 2023 compared with 58 in 2025). We are pleased to see this renewed interest and note that, in some cases, authors choose to adapt work initially conceived as full-length articles to this format.

English remains the primary language for manuscript submissions (69%), including those from authors in Spanish-speaking countries. This inclination is even more pronounced in the journal's main publication format, the original article, with only 19% of submitted originals in Spanish. Among accepted manuscripts, the trend is even clearer: 92% of accepted originals were initially submitted in English (figure 5). In this context, Spain continues to lead in original article submissions (42%), while contributions from Asian countries—accounting for 27% of originals received in 2025—continue to increase, particularly from China and South Korea (figure 6).

Figure 5.

Language at submission of original articles accepted by Rev Esp Cardiol, 2016-2025.

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Figure 6.

Original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol in 2025, by country of origin.

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The categories receiving the largest number of original article submissions and acceptances are “Epidemiology, risk factors and prevention,” “Interventional cardiology,” and “Cardiomyopathy and heart failure” (figure 7). In 2025, following a recommendation from the Section on Familial Heart Disease and Cardiovascular Genetics of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), Rev Esp Cardiol introduced a new category, “Cardiovascular genetics,” which has already begun to attract manuscripts. In addition, the “Ischemic heart disease” category was renamed “Ischemic heart disease and acute cardiovascular care” at the request of the corresponding scientific association.

Figure 7.

Original articles submitted to Rev Esp Cardiol in 2025, by category.

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All accepted content is initially published in ahead-of-print format and later included in a journal issue. Prompt availability of articles in a preproof version—before the ahead-of-print stage—was achieved by the current editorial team during their first term5 and remains one of our most gratifying accomplishments. Preproofs of Rev Esp Cardiol articles submitted in English continue to be released on our website6 and in leading international repositories7,8 within 15 days of acceptance. The preproofs are fully citable. Articles accepted in Spanish are also quickly accessible on our website6 and are indexed in ScienceDirect7 and PubMed8 once the preproofs of the English version are available (approximately 60 days after acceptance). The positive feedback received from authors makes these achievements especially rewarding.

Another aspect we are proud of, and perhaps the most notable development of 2025, is our journal's closer connection with the SEC's Associations and Sections. As the official publication of a national scientific society, Rev Esp Cardiol benefits greatly from working with a network of professionals dedicated to advancing research, knowledge, and training across the cardiology subspecialties. While interactions with research groups in each specialty naturally occur, the editorial team actively demonstrated its commitment by participating in the annual meetings of each SEC Section and Association throughout 2025. Dedicated sessions with the journal at these meetings allowed us to discuss Rev Esp Cardiol and explore avenues for collaboration. We greatly value the suggestions and comments received and are pleased to have opened this channel of dialogue, which we believe will further strengthen synergies within our professional community.

The institutional nature of the journal is reflected in the publication of several consensus and position documents throughout the year. In 2025 Rev Esp Cardiol published a study on catheter-directed interventions in acute pulmonary embolism, resulting from collaboration among the Interventional Cardiology Association, the Ischemic Heart Disease and Acute Cardiovascular Care Association, and the Pulmonary Hypertension Working Group of the SEC. The article underscores the importance of risk stratification, rapid-response teams, and a multidisciplinary approach.9 The journal also addressed the strategic importance of sex-specific features of cardiovascular disease in women through a comprehensive consensus document on cardiovascular prevention throughout the life course, incorporating risk factors and preventive approaches for each stage of life.10 In the public health setting, a document on the methodology and development of cardiovascular health strategies in the Spanish National Health System is notable for its cross-cutting perspective, focused on promoting health, equity, and continuity of care.11 Additionally, the Spanish Society of Transplantation, the SEC, and the Spanish Society of Nephrology published a joint Delphi study on the comprehensive management of cardiovascular disease in kidney transplantation, providing practical recommendations in a setting with limited clinical evidence.12 As in previous years, our journal published updates of the official registries for pacemakers, transplants, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, hemodynamics, and ablation, with full historical records available in the SEC Official Registries section of our website.13

Among the review articles published in 2025, the study by Alperi et al. examined the current knowledge regarding transcatheter aortic valve implantation in bicuspid aortic valves, identifying the main technical and anatomical challenges and providing a forward-looking perspective. This field is likely to become more prominent as indications for transcatheter aortic valve prostheses expand to younger patients and those at lower risk.14 In another significant contribution, Hernández-Pérez et al. reviewed the role of heart transplantation as a treatment for cardiogenic shock. The authors provided a critical appraisal of the Spanish model, outlining the delicate balance between equity, efficiency, and clinical outcomes, as well as the increasing importance of mechanical circulatory support devices.15 In the setting of inherited heart diseases, the review by Teixidó-Tura et al. on risk assessment in thoracic aortic disease examined the limitations of criteria based solely on aortic diameter and highlighted the future value of integrating genetic information, biomarkers, and advanced imaging techniques to achieve more accurate risk stratification.16 Finally, in a study on precision nutrition for cardiometabolic diseases, Martínez-González et al. underscored the potential of metabolomics and multi-omics approaches to enhance risk prediction and move toward personalized preventive strategies.17

The SEC Guidelines Committee continued its work translating the clinical practice guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology into Spanish18 and preparing related articles for our journal. In 2025 Rev Esp Cardiol published a series of editorials19–22 discussing the 2024 guidelines for atrial fibrillation,23 elevated blood pressure and hypertension,24 peripheral arterial and aortic disease,25 and chronic coronary syndromes.26

Additional SEC-related content in 2025 included a special issue containing all presentations from its annual Congress on Cardiovascular Health in Granada,27 as well as publication of scientific letters resulting from collaborations with the SEC's Clinical Case League,28,29 accompanied by editorial commentaries from experts in the field.30,31

With the aim of promoting research among young Spanish cardiologists, Rev Esp Cardiol maintained the awards for the best article by a first author aged 40 years or younger,32 and for the best article whose first or second author is a resident physician (MIR).33 The award for the article with the greatest international impact published by the journal was presented to the PATHWAYS-HF study by Sicras-Mainar et al.34

We also extend our warmest congratulations to López-Mínguez et al., who received second prize in the Magda Heras Award from the SEC and the Inter-American Society of Cardiology for the best original article published in journals of the Ibero-American cardiovascular editorial network.35–37 Their study on the DESAFIO registry36 was published in our sister journal REC: Interventional Cardiology. Additionally, we take this opportunity to congratulate REC: Interventional Cardiology on reaching the milestone of PubMed Central indexing in 2025,38 which will undoubtedly bring a well-deserved increase in visibility for its content.

Articles from Rev Esp Cardiol are disseminated through multiple channels. In 2025, the journal's more than 50 000 subscribers received a weekly newsletter featuring ahead-of-print articles, and a monthly newsletter containing the table of contents of each issue. Updates on the journal's activities, including publications, awards, and involvement in congresses and association events, are also shared through the REC Publications social media profiles: X,39 with 23 000 followers; Facebook,40 with 13 000; and BlueSky,41 with early activity in its first year; as well as SEC's Instagram42 and LinkedIn43 accounts.

We conclude with information from the most recent edition of the Journal Citation Reports, published in 2025, in which our journal ranks 43rd among the 231 indexed cardiovascular journals, with an impact factor of 4.9. We are more than satisfied with this result, which—setting aside circumstances that may occasionally influence the impact factor5—reflects the scientific strength of our publication in a highly competitive cardiovascular field. The journal is positioned in the first quartile of the specialty, which includes 55 titles this year. We trust that Rev Esp Cardiol will continue to receive high-quality research to further secure its place among the world's leading cardiovascular journals.