Top 25 Cardiology Journals by Impact Factor (2025) – Leading Publications in Cardiovascular Medicine
This list ranks the world’s most influential cardiology and cardiovascular medicine journals by their Impact Factor and overall scientific influence. It includes leading publications from the American Heart Association (AHA), European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and American College of Cardiology (ACC), spanning clinical practice, interventional cardiology, imaging, heart failure, and translational research.
Each entry highlights the journal’s impact factor, publisher, history, scope, and readership, along with notes on its publishing focus and contribution to the field.
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The Top 25
1. Nature Reviews Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 41.7
Publisher: Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature)
History: Established 2004
Scope / Readership: High-level reviews across clinical cardiology, basic research, prevention, and health policy; read globally by clinicians and investigators.
Publishing Note: Invitation-only review journal; the highest-impact title in cardiovascular medicine.
Website: https://www.nature.com/nrcardio
2. Circulation
Impact Factor (2024): 38.6
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association
History: Established 1950
Scope / Readership: Clinical trials, translational studies, outcomes research, and epidemiology in cardiovascular medicine.
Publishing Note: The flagship AHA journal and leading global source for cardiovascular science and practice.
Website: https://circ.ahajournals.org
3. European Heart Journal (EHJ)
Impact Factor (2024): 35.6
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 1980
Scope / Readership: Comprehensive coverage of cardiovascular medicine including clinical trials, prevention, imaging, and public health.
Publishing Note: Official ESC journal publishing major guidelines and landmark research.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj
4. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)
Impact Factor (2024): 22.3
Publisher: Elsevier for the American College of Cardiology
History: Established 1983
Scope / Readership: Clinical and translational cardiovascular research, trials, and review articles.
Publishing Note: Flagship journal of the ACC and leading source for practice-changing cardiology.
Website: https://www.jacc.org/journal/jacc
5. JAMA Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 14.7
Publisher: American Medical Association
History: Established 2016
Scope / Readership: Clinical investigations, health policy, and translational research in cardiovascular medicine.
Publishing Note: High-impact JAMA Network journal with rapid dissemination and global reach.
Website: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology
6. Cardiovascular Research
Impact Factor (2024): 13.3
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 1967
Scope / Readership: Basic, translational, and clinical cardiovascular science.
Publishing Note: Core ESC title bridging fundamental discovery with clinical application.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascular-research
7. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging
Impact Factor (2024): 15.2
Publisher: Elsevier for the American College of Cardiology
History: Established 2008
Scope / Readership: Echocardiography, cardiac CT, MRI, and multimodality imaging.
Publishing Note: Leading imaging journal under the JACC family.
Website: https://www.jacc.org/journal/jaccimaging
8. JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions
Impact Factor (2024): 11.7
Publisher: Elsevier for the American College of Cardiology
History: Established 2008
Scope / Readership: Interventional cardiology, structural heart, and catheter-based therapies.
Publishing Note: Premier interventional cardiology title publishing practice-changing procedural studies.
Website: https://www.jacc.org/journal/jaccint
9. European Journal of Heart Failure
Impact Factor (2024): 10.8
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 1999
Scope / Readership: Heart failure mechanisms, devices, and clinical outcomes.
Publishing Note: Definitive ESC journal for heart failure research and management.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/ejhf
10. Nature Cardiovascular Research
Impact Factor (2024): 18.0
Publisher: Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature)
History: Established 2022
Scope / Readership: Basic, translational, and computational cardiovascular science.
Publishing Note: Emerging high-tier Nature title with rapidly growing influence.
Website: https://www.nature.com/natcardiovascres
11. Basic Research in Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 7.5
Publisher: Springer Nature
History: Established 1975
Scope / Readership: Molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and preclinical therapy development.
Publishing Note: Leading basic-science cardiology journal bridging laboratory and clinical research.
Website: https://www.springer.com/journal/115
12. EuroIntervention
Impact Factor (2024): 7.6
Publisher: European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)
History: Established 2005
Scope / Readership: Interventional cardiology, devices, and catheter-based therapies.
Publishing Note: Primary ESC-affiliated journal for interventional and structural cardiology.
Website: https://www.eurointervention.com
13. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 7.5
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 1994
Scope / Readership: Cardiovascular prevention, lifestyle, and rehabilitation.
Publishing Note: Leading prevention-focused journal within the ESC family.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc
14. Heart Rhythm
Impact Factor (2024): 5.6
Publisher: Elsevier for the Heart Rhythm Society
History: Established 2004
Scope / Readership: Electrophysiology, pacing, and arrhythmia research.
Publishing Note: Official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society with strong international readership.
Website: https://www.heartrhythmjournal.com
15. Journal of Cardiac Failure
Impact Factor (2024): 8.2
Publisher: Elsevier for the Heart Failure Society of America
History: Established 1994
Scope / Readership: Heart failure pathophysiology, outcomes, and therapy.
Publishing Note: Rapidly growing journal in clinical heart failure research.
Website: https://www.journalofcardiacfailure.com
16. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
Impact Factor (2024): 7.3
Publisher: Elsevier
History: Established 1991
Scope / Readership: Reviews and perspectives in cardiovascular research and clinical care. Publishing Note: High-quality review journal emphasizing translational relevance.
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/trends-in-cardiovascular-medicine
17. Circulation: Heart Failure
Impact Factor (2024): 7.8
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association
History: Established 2008
Scope / Readership: Heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and advanced therapies.
Publishing Note: Key AHA sub-journal dedicated to heart failure research.
Website: https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circheartfail
18. European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging
Impact Factor (2024): 6.6
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 2004
Scope / Readership: Cardiac imaging using MRI, CT, echocardiography, and nuclear techniques.
Publishing Note: ESC’s dedicated imaging journal for advanced diagnostic research.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/ehjcimaging
19. European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy
Impact Factor (2024): 6.1
Publisher: Oxford University Press for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 2015
Scope / Readership: Cardiovascular pharmacology, drug therapy, and clinical pharmacokinetics.
Publishing Note: Specialized ESC journal focusing on cardiovascular therapeutics.
Website: https://academic.oup.com/ehjcp
20. Canadian Journal of Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 5.8
Publisher: Elsevier for the Canadian Cardiovascular Society
History: Established 1985
Scope / Readership: Clinical cardiology, health systems, and population outcomes.
Publishing Note: Leading national cardiovascular journal with strong international impact.
Website: https://www.canadianjournalofcardiology.com
21. Journal of the American Heart Association
Impact Factor (2024): 5.0
Publisher: American Heart Association (AHA)
History: Established 2012
Scope / Readership: Broad coverage of cardiovascular clinical and translational studies.
Publishing Note: AHA’s open-access journal with global visibility.
Website: https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/jaha
22. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging
Impact Factor (2024): 6.5
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for the American Heart Association
History: Established 2008
Scope / Readership: Imaging-based diagnosis and disease assessment in cardiovascular medicine.
Publishing Note: AHA’s imaging sub-journal complementing Circulation.
Website: https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circimaging
23. JACC: Basic to Translational Science
Impact Factor (2024): 8.4
Publisher: Elsevier for the American College of Cardiology
History: Established 2016
Scope / Readership: Translational cardiovascular biology bridging bench and bedside.
Publishing Note: JACC sub-journal for preclinical and translational discoveries.
Website: https://www.jacc.org/journal/jaccbst
24. ESC Heart Failure
Impact Factor (2024): 3.7
Publisher: Wiley for the European Society of Cardiology
History: Established 2014
Scope / Readership: Open-access heart failure research, including clinical trials and outcomes studies.
Publishing Note: Rapidly expanding open-access ESC journal for heart failure investigators.
Website: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/ehf2
25. American Journal of Cardiology
Impact Factor (2024): 2.1
Publisher: Elsevier
History: Established 1958
Scope / Readership: General clinical cardiology and practice-based research.
Publishing Note: One of the longest-running cardiology journals with wide practitioner readership.
Website: https://www.ajconline.org
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