The challenging year 2022 is drawing to a close. From a global perspective, this year started with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war that triggered a massive humanitarian crisis and enhanced inflationary pressures.
Major changes have marked the year 2022 in the journal’s history. Since Kardiologia Polska (Kardiol Pol, Polish Heart Journal) has not been supported by any governmental funds since 2021, the journal has experienced lean months, which hampers its growth. On March 16, 2022, article processing charges (APC) were introduced for the first time (500 EUR for publication of original articles and unsolicited reviews, and 250 EUR for short communications and clinical vignettes). Consequently, the number of submissions has dropped, in particular, in the category of short communications. However, a total number of submissions remained high within the last 9 months with the present acceptance rate of 25%. Also in March the final agreement between the Polish Cardiac Society and the new publisher, Via Medica, was signed, and on October 30, this agreement was extended till 2024.
Despite some hard times in 2021, we were extremely pleased to announce a newly released Impact Factor in June 2022 that reached the highest ever value of 3.710, with a slight, though noticeable, contribution of COVID-19 articles that reflected a global trend. This proves that Kardiol Pol delivers impactful research, interesting for scientists from a number of countries, and inspiring expert commentaries, as evidenced by well-cited editorials. In 2022, we were proud to see among our authors an increasing number of international researchers who chose Kardiol Pol to submit not only solicited reviews but also original articles. Our presence in social media has been enhanced, with more than 6500 followers on Facebook and more than 300 Twitter observers.
The year 2023 is ahead of us. The Editorial Team will maintain high standards of novelty and methodological rigor. High ethical standards will be still followed. We have decided to encourage the Board of the Polish Cardiac Society to officially add the English version of the title, i.e. Polish Heart Journal, which, following the formal decision of the whole Society, will lead to introducing the journal into the English-speaking world and increasing its discoverability in PubMed or Google. This change has the potential to improve our Impact factor by around 10%. Another key task for 2023 is to upgrade our journal website following current trends in publishing, given that nowadays most readers do not look for articles in printed copies, and to turn Kardiol Pol into an electronic journal, which will allow cutting down costs. Without becoming more like best cardiology journals, we cannot attract new authors from abroad. The use of Editorial Manager, the recognized online submission system, was only the first step in this direction.
I wish a joyful and peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year to all our authors, reviewers, readers, and supporters, to all who like us on Facebook and Twitter, and to all who express insightful comments and advice. Our aim is to make the Polish Heart Journal a high-profile journal falling to the category of the top quartile cardiology periodicals. We can do it in the foreseeable future. We are not afraid of multiple editorial tasks, but we need the continued support of our readers, in particular, Polish cardiologists interested in research. If you are looking for the best journal for your next article, we invite you to submit it to Kardiol Pol.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2023!
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Conflict of interest: None declared.
Funding: None.
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