© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Report on Excellence From the AHA Publications Committee |
AHA Journals at the Forefront of Cardiology
A Report on Excellence
The 5 American Heart Association (AHA) journals—Circulation; Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology; Circulation Research; Hypertension; and Stroke—are resolved to further an ambitious and formidable goal of the AHA, which is to become the best communicator of scientific information to the public at large. The journals exemplify the very nature of the AHA's primary objective of "fighting heart disease and stroke" by publishing the work of the pioneers and visionaries of medicine and science. Their breakthrough research, use of innovative technologies, experiments, and discoveries are the core substance of the AHA journals. Irrefutable evidence gives testimony to the realization of the goals of the AHA within the scope of the AHA journals—the 1997 Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) impact factors (source: ISI. 1997 Journal Citation Report [JCR]).
Stated simply, the AHA journals reign at the very top of the field of cardiology, according to the ISI JCR. This annual publication of the ISI tracks the impact factor of scientific journals each year, and each year, the AHA journals dominate their competitors in the areas of cardiology, cardiovascular disease, and vascular biology.
A balanced mix of components in the content, production, and distribution of the AHA journals has been tested and proved successful in maintaining the journals' leading impact factors: publish the best articles; reduce time to publication; and expand distribution.
The first two elements cooperate in a mutually beneficial cycle. By
reducing the time from manuscript submission to publication in the AHA
journals, new breakthroughs