CardioExchange Archive

Last week the ACC announced that renowned cardiologist Valentin Fuster would be the next editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Fuster kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the state of medical journals and his plans for the journal.

What is the future of the printed form of the journal?

Fuster: It will slowly decrease. The younger generation will be going less and less to the printed page. How long it will take to be completely banished, if it is ever banished, is hard to say, but the trend is clear.

What are your aspirations for JACC? How would you like it to be different in two years from where it is today?

Fuster: JACC is going to be patient centered and will be completely translational in two different directions, from basic science to the patient and from global health and epidemiology to the patient. These two extremes will merge into the patient. This is a critical issue to me and will be central to my mission.

As an example, let’s take Marfan syndrome. One aspect is the genetics and the molecular basis of the disease that leads to the dissection of the aorta. On the other hand, there is the worldwide experience with the use of ARBs and beta blockers for the prevention of aortic disease in Marfan patients. So these are two completely distinct directions.

At the end of each article there will be a summary with two statements. The first will look at the topic and point to where we go from here, more to the molecular area or to the global area. The other statement will consider the article and its impact on competencies that are so important today in clinical practice.

Under your leadership will JACC be a more international journal? If so, what is your strategy for that?

Fuster: I think it will become more international. I am very involved internationally. This will be reflected in the editorial board of the journal and it will be reflected in the invited articles.

Do you expect there to be more JACC journals in the future?

Fuster: Yes. I can’t say more, but there are three possible new journals that we are thinking about now.

Do you think that clinicians are reading journals less now than in the past?

Fuster: There is no question that people are reading journals less and turning more to the web. People are getting a lot of information without reading a journal.

Do you have plans for the JACC website?

Fuster: Yes. I already have discussed with the college about the specific plans.

How will you measure the success of the journal?

Fuster: I believe that there are many parameters. One is impact factor, of course, but I don’t think impact factor is or should be the ultimate and sole measure of a journal’s success. As you know, the impact factor has come under scrutiny and criticism. What matters most to me is how it increases readership and serves the patients through better education of physicians and fellows.