The Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia and the Dissemination of Cardiovascular Science Research in Brazil

For over six decades, the development of cardiology and cardiovascular science in Brazil has been documented by the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia. Over these years, major changes have been observed in various fields of expertise, and new fields of investigation and activity have emerged, significantly transforming the contents of our journal. As we begin a new volume of files at the same time they also started a new period in front of the management of the journal, it is important to highlight the main aspects and trends in publications held. Therefore, it is of great importance that among more than 1,500 original manuscripts published by Brazilian authors on journals indexed by Thomson-Reuters in the database Web of Science regarding cardiovascular topics, from 2010 to 2012, about 27% were published by the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, which makes clear the importance of this journal for the Brazilian cardiology science.

With respect to the changes seen in the publications of the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia throughout its existence, the special article published in this edition, by Évora et al., provides an excellent overview on the evolution of the prevalence of major heart diseases based on the manuscripts published over 60 years, during which the journal was indexed at an international level. Over the period analyzed, we observe a progressive increase in the percentage of publications regarding coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, hypertension and congestive heart failure – conditions whose prevalence and whose prevention and treatment actions have become increasingly frequent. In parallel, a decrease in the percentage of manuscripts addressing valvular heart diseases, including rheumatic disease, has been documented, as well as those that refer to Chagas’ disease and cardiac arrhythmias.

[…]