European Heart Journal: Case Reports

The ESC journal family launches a new open access journal, EHJ-CR at https://academic.oup.com/ehjcr European Heart Journal—Case Reports (EHJ-CR) is to launch as a new member of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) journal family. As an open access journal, EHJ-CR focuses on the publication of high-quality case reports, case series and images. Case reports have often been the stimulus for major medical advances. However, in the modern publishing world, case reports have increasingly been seen as a liability to a journal. With impact factors driving the importance of the journal and with the move towards evidence-based health care the case report has become an ‘endangered species’. But of course, interesting and important cases continue to present, and they are regularly described at hospital meetings. The lessons that the best of these provide should be more widely communicated. By developing a journal dedicated to case reports, the ESC will ensure continued publication in this valuable format. An open access, on-line only publication model and the primary educational purpose of the journal means that impact factor is not important to ensure the submission of articles and readership of the journal. EHJ-CR is designed and intended to provide educational opportunities for readers, authors, reviewers and editors. For readers, articles will focus on an educational message and key learning points to ensure the maximum impact of the case. Each article will come with a downloadable PowerPoint slide show prepared by the authors. EHJ-CR is initiating a novel reviewing programme—the articles will be reviewed by a pair of reviewers. One of this pair will be a ‘junior reviewer’ a trainee cardiologist with limited reviewing experience, nominated by the ‘Young Groups’ of ESC Associations/Working Groups, and other constituent bodies. The other member of the pair will be a senior cardiologist and experienced reviewer nominated by the National Societies. The review compiled by the junior reviewer and the article will be reviewed by the senior reviewer. This will act as a learning experience for the junior reviewer and ensure that the peer review, as a technique, is taught to the next generation of clinicians. Other young cardiologists are appointed as trainee associate editors who will work with the editor-in-chief to make day to day editorial decisions. An Editorial Board has been formed consisting of the editors of the relevant ESC family of journals together with some young cardiologists. The management of EHJ-CR will be undertaken by: Editor-in-Chief: A. John Camm, St George’s University of London, UK Assistant Editor: C. Fielder Camm, University of Oxford, UK, together with a Team of Associate Editors, Senior and Junior Reviewers. ESC members will obtain a 30% discount on article processing fees for articles submitted to EHJ-CR. This discount will apply even if only one of the listed authors is an ESC member. To submit articles to the journal please visit the journal website https://academic.oup.com/ehjcr Conflict of interest: none declared.