Editors' Choice in the 60th Anniversary Year of Thrombosis and Haemostasis: Past, Present and Future

2017 marks a very special year for Thrombosis and Haemostasis : it marked the 60th anniversary of the journal. To commemorate this event, selected section editors were invited to create a modern portrait of the journal, reflecting the milestones of the past and encouraging a glance into future across the many topics of the journal's scope. The main directions reflected in the anniversary editorial[ 1 ] are recapitulated in this year's Editors' Choice selection of papers of high interest or citation. We traditionally start the New Near with various position and consensus papers and current state-of-the-art developments, revealing valuable insights for researchers and clinical specialists. For instance, the role of microvesicles in the pathophysiology of thrombosis and cardiovascular disease has been intensely investigated in light of their value as potential biomarkers. We are therefore delighted to publish a relevant position paper of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, which comprehensively summarizes the current mechanistic knowledge on the formation, composition and function of microvesicles with an endothelial, platelet, red blood cell and leukocyte origin.[ 2 ] In addition, we also published an executive summary of a joint consensus document from the European Heart Rhythm Association and European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Thrombosis, endorsed by the ESC Working Group on Valvular Heart Disease, Cardiac Arrhythmia Society of Southern Africa (CASSA), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), South African Heart (SA Heart) Association and Sociedad Latinoamericana de Estimulación Cardíaca y Electrofisiología (SOLEACE), addressing the topic of antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with valvular heart disease.[ 3 ] This document recommends that the term ‘valvular AF’ is outdated and proposes a new functional Evaluated Heartvalves, Rheumatic or Artificial (EHRA) categorization in relation to the type of oral anticoagulant use in patients with AF, as follows: (1) EHRA Type 1 valvular heart disease which refers to AF patients with ‘valvular heart disease needing therapy with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA)’ and (2) EHRA Type 2 valvular heart disease, which refers to AF patients with ‘valvular heart disease needing therapy with a VKA or a non-VKA oral anticoagulant (NOAC)’, also taking into consideration score risk factors.