Best Cardiology Journals (2026): Ranked by Impact and Accessibility
Ranked list of the top 12 cardiology journals by impact factor, acceptance rate, APC, and review speed, covering EHJ, JACC, Circulation and specialty venues for imaging, electrophysiology, and heart failure research.
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Cardiology is one of the highest-impact medical specialties, with large clinical trials, device studies, and interventional research generating enormous citation volumes. The journal landscape is dominated by three powerhouses (EHJ, JACC, Circulation), but the field has dozens of strong specialty journals covering everything from arrhythmias to structural heart disease to basic cardiovascular science.
Choosing the right cardiology journal means understanding where your study type fits, not just chasing the highest IF.
Elite tier (IF 20+)
These journals publish the trials that change clinical practice guidelines. Large RCTs, landmark registries, and practice-defining meta-analyses live here.
1. European Heart Journal (IF ~35)
EHJ is the journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and consistently ranks as the top or second-top cardiology journal. It publishes clinical trials, ESC guidelines, and translational cardiovascular research. EHJ has a particularly strong position in European cardiology, but its reach is fully global.
EHJ also publishes substantial imaging, biomarker, and digital health research. If your paper uses advanced imaging to inform clinical decisions, EHJ is receptive.
Acceptance rate: ~8-10%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Clinical cardiology, cardiovascular trials, ESC guidelines, imaging, biomarkers.
2. Circulation (IF ~38)
Circulation is the flagship journal of the American Heart Association (AHA). It publishes clinical and translational cardiovascular research, AHA scientific statements, and landmark clinical trials. Circulation's scope includes both cardiac and vascular medicine, so stroke, peripheral artery disease, and vascular biology all fit.
Circulation has several companion journals (Circulation Research, Circulation: Heart Failure, etc.) that editors use as cascade targets. A rejection from the main journal can sometimes be redirected within the AHA family.
Acceptance rate: ~8-10%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-8 weeks. Scope: Clinical cardiology, vascular medicine, AHA statements, cardiovascular trials.
3. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (IF ~21)
JACC is the journal of the ACC and a dominant force in interventional cardiology, structural heart disease, and clinical cardiology trials. JACC publishes practice-changing trials, expert consensus documents, and the ACC/AHA clinical guidelines.
JACC has a family of specialty journals (JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, JACC: Heart Failure, JACC: Imaging, JACC: Electrophysiology) that provide excellent cascade options within the ACC ecosystem.
Acceptance rate: ~8-10%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Clinical cardiology, interventional, structural, imaging, ACC guidelines.
4. Circulation Research (IF ~16)
Circulation Research (AHA) is the top basic cardiovascular science journal. If your paper is about vascular biology, cardiac myocyte physiology, or molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, Circ Res is the premier venue. It bridges basic and translational research, expecting both mechanistic depth and disease relevance.
Acceptance rate: ~10-12%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-8 weeks. Scope: Cardiovascular basic science, vascular biology, cardiac physiology, translational research.
Strong tier (IF 8-20)
These journals publish excellent cardiology research without requiring practice-changing trial data. Observational studies, device evaluations, and focused clinical questions find strong homes here.
5. European Heart Journal: Cardiovascular Imaging (IF ~10)
EHJ-CVI is the ESC's imaging journal and the top venue for echocardiography, cardiac MRI, cardiac CT, and nuclear cardiology research. If your paper's primary contribution is an imaging finding or imaging technique validation, this journal's specialized readership will evaluate it more fairly than a generalist cardiology journal.
Acceptance rate: ~15%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-8 weeks. Scope: All cardiovascular imaging modalities.
6. JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions (IF ~10)
JACC-CVI covers percutaneous coronary intervention, structural heart procedures, and catheter-based therapies. If your paper is about PCI outcomes, TAVR, MitraClip, or other interventional procedures, this is the top specialty venue. Registry data and real-world evidence are well-received here.
Acceptance rate: ~15%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Interventional cardiology, structural heart, catheter-based therapy.
7. JACC: Heart Failure (IF ~9)
JACC: Heart Failure is the top specialty journal for heart failure research. It publishes trials, observational studies, and translational research focused specifically on HF pathophysiology, treatment, and outcomes. If heart failure is your paper's focus, this specialized audience will appreciate the depth.
Acceptance rate: ~15%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Heart failure trials, HF pathophysiology, mechanical circulatory support, transplantation.
Accessible tier (IF 3-8)
These journals publish good cardiology research at attainable selectivity levels. Single-center studies, pilot data, and focused clinical questions find appropriate audiences.
8. Heart Rhythm (IF ~5.7)
Heart Rhythm is the journal of the Heart Rhythm Society and the top venue for cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia research. Ablation studies, device trials (pacemakers, ICDs), and arrhythmia mechanisms all belong here.
Acceptance rate: ~15-20%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Electrophysiology, arrhythmias, ablation, cardiac devices.
9. Heart (BMJ) (IF ~4.4)
Heart (published by BMJ) is a solid general cardiology journal with a UK and European focus. It publishes clinical research, imaging studies, and evidence-based cardiology reviews. Heart is less selective than EHJ or JACC but well-respected, and it provides a practical home for solid clinical cardiology research.
Acceptance rate: ~15-20%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: General clinical cardiology, imaging, prevention.
10. International Journal of Cardiology (IF ~4)
IJC (Elsevier) is a large-volume cardiology journal with broad scope. It accepts a wide range of study types, from small clinical series to epidemiological studies to basic science. The acceptance rate is relatively generous for technically sound work.
Acceptance rate: ~25-30%. APC: None (hybrid OA). Review time: 4-8 weeks. Scope: All cardiology, broad scope, international.
11. Journal of the American Heart Association (IF ~5)
JAHA is the AHA's open-access, broad-scope journal. It publishes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research across clinical, translational, and population science. JAHA's acceptance rate is more forgiving than the AHA's flagship journals, and the open-access format provides global visibility.
Acceptance rate: ~25%. APC: $2,500. Review time: 4-6 weeks. Scope: Broad cardiovascular research, open access.
12. Open Heart (BMJ) (IF ~3)
Open Heart is BMJ's open-access cardiology journal. It publishes clinical cardiology, cardiac surgery, and cardiovascular medicine research with an accessible threshold. For papers that are sound but don't claim to be practice-changing, Open Heart provides quick, transparent publication.
Acceptance rate: ~30-35%. APC: $2,365. Review time: 3-6 weeks. Scope: All cardiology, open access, cardiac surgery.
Decision framework
If your paper is a large clinical trial with outcome data, start with EHJ, Circulation, or JACC. All three want practice-changing evidence. EHJ and Circulation have the highest IFs, JACC is slightly more accessible.
If your paper is interventional or structural heart, JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions is the specialty venue. EuroPCR/TCT trial presentations often land here.
If your paper is an imaging study, EHJ: Cardiovascular Imaging is the most focused target. JACC: Imaging is the ACC-family equivalent.
If your paper is about heart failure, JACC: Heart Failure is the specialty home. Circulation: Heart Failure (AHA) is the alternative.
If your paper is electrophysiology or arrhythmia research, Heart Rhythm is the top specialty journal. Europace (ESC) is the European alternative.
If your paper is basic cardiovascular science, Circulation Research is the premier venue. Cardiovascular Research (ESC) is a strong alternative.
If you need open-access publication, JAHA provides good prestige-to-accessibility balance. Open Heart is more accessible but lower IF.
Common mistakes cardiology researchers make when choosing journals
Submitting specialty data to generalist journals. An electrophysiology paper won't get fair review at EHJ or JACC unless it has extremely broad implications. Heart Rhythm reviewers understand EP terminology and will evaluate your ablation data properly.
Ignoring the society journal advantage. EHJ (ESC), JACC (ACC), and Circulation (AHA) are society journals. Members get email alerts for new publications, which drives readership. Publishing in your society's journal means your colleagues at the annual meeting have already seen your work.
Confusing Circulation and Circulation Research. Circulation publishes clinical research. Circulation Research publishes basic science. Submitting a clinical trial to Circ Res, or a vascular biology study to Circulation, causes immediate desk rejection.
Not using the cascade system. JACC has JACC: Interventions, JACC: Heart Failure, JACC: Imaging, and JACC: Electrophysiology. Circulation has Circ: Heart Failure, Circ: Arrhythmia and EP, and others. If the flagship rejects you, stay in the family.
Overwriting the clinical significance. Cardiology editors are practicing doctors. They can tell when a statistical difference isn't clinically meaningful. Framing a 2mmHg blood pressure reduction as a breakthrough will get your paper rejected, and may annoy the editor.
Get your manuscript ready
Before submitting to any cardiology journal, run your manuscript through a free Manusights scan to check formatting, CONSORT/STROBE compliance, and reference accuracy. Cardiology journals are strict about trial reporting standards, and a pre-submission scan prevents desk rejection over fixable formatting issues.
Sources
Reference library
Use the core publishing datasets alongside this guide
This article answers one part of the publishing decision. The reference library covers the recurring questions that usually come next: how selective journals are, how long review takes, and what the submission requirements look like across journals.
Dataset / reference guide
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.
Dataset / benchmark
Biomedical Journal Acceptance Rates
A field-organized acceptance-rate guide that works as a neutral benchmark when authors are deciding how selective to target.
Reference table
Journal Submission Specs
A high-utility submission table covering word limits, figure caps, reference limits, and formatting expectations.
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