Journal profile · Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Heart Rhythm
ISSN 1547-5271 · eISSN 1556-3871 · Elsevier · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2004
Heart Rhythm: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.35; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,790; median 61 days to acceptance (186 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 5%; 2,423 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Heart Rhythm is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cardiac Arrhythmias and Treatments, Cardiac pacing and defibrillation studies and Atrial Fibrillation Management and Outcomes, together about 53.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Heart Rhythm, the official Journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, is a unique journal for fundamental discovery and clinical applicability.Heart Rhythm integrates the entire cardiac electrophysiology (EP) community, from basic and clinical academic researchers to private practitioners, engineers, allied professionals, industry, and trainees, all of whom are vital and interdependent members of our EP community.The Heart Rhythm Society is the international leader in science, education, and advocacy for cardiac arrhythmia professionals and patients and the primary information resource on heart rhythm disorders. Heart Rhythm has two open access companion titles:Case reports, illustrations, and educational vignettes can be submitted to Heart Rhythm Case Reports.Original clinical and experimental research, review articles, and more can be submitted to Heart Rhythm O2.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Editor-in-chief Sami ViskinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 0%); most named United States 149, Canada 15, Italy 13, United Kingdom 10, Japan 10 (247 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cardiac Arrhythmias and TreatmentsMedicine21.2%
- Cardiac pacing and defibrillation studiesMedicine16.4%
- Atrial Fibrillation Management and OutcomesMedicine16.2%
- Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmiasMedicine15.2%
- ECG Monitoring and AnalysisMedicine3.4%
- Cardiovascular Function and Risk FactorsMedicine3%
- Cardiovascular Effects of ExerciseMedicine2.3%
- Ion channel regulation and functionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 6.35LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.64LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 115LetPub ·
- h-index
- 196OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,538OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.27OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.06%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 447LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 21,629 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2,463 | 433 | 368 |
| 2025 | 2,423 | 1,023 | 2,811 |
| 2024 | 2,373 | 1,573 | 6,037 |
| 2023 | 1,764 | 1,401 | 3,789 |
| 2022 | 1,458 | 248 | 5,227 |
| 2021 | 1,555 | 197 | 7,083 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
61 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 38 days – 101 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 8 days (186 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 73 days
- Sample
- 186 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,683 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 5%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,790 / EUR 4,480 / GBP 3,830 / JPY 594,100 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,790 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- case reportaccepted if submitted as a Case Report. Case Reports Whether this is for the ECG Corner or EP Corner or Device Corner, submissions are limited to 2,500 words, i…main text ≤ 2,500 words
- contemporary reviewsContemporary Reviews A non-structured abstract of up to 150 words is required.Length not stated
- letterThe list of Article Types is shown below. We are flexible with word count limits for most article types. If you have a very good paper that exceeds the number o…Length not stated
- original articleOriginal Clinical or Original Experimental We prefer manuscripts that do not exceed 5,000 words. The word count includes all text in the submission, i.e., title…Length not stated
- original clinical or original experimentalOriginal Clinical or Original Experimental We prefer manuscripts that do not exceed 5,000 words.Length not stated
- reviewOriginal Clinical or Original Experimental We prefer manuscripts that do not exceed 5,000 words. The word count includes all text in the submission, i.e., title…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- viewpointinquire with their Dean’s Department). Viewpoints Limited to 1500 words or fewer, including references. Editorial Commentary All armain text ≤ 1,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with individuals or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no conflicts of interest, then pleas…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
This journal offers authors a choice in publishing their research: subscription or open accessFor subscription articles Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a “Publishing Agreement” (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a “Journal Publishing Agreement” form or a link to the o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Subscription or open access publishing options Model summary
Please visit our Open Access page for more information. Elsevier Researcher Academy Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to support early and mid-career researchers throughout their research journey. The "Learn" environment at Researcher Academy offers several interactive modules, webinars, downloadable guides and resources to guide you through the process of writing for resea…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single blind review process Model summary
This journal operates a single blind review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the Editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically assigned to an Associate Editor or Section Editor and are sent to a minimum of one independent expert reviewer to assess the scientific quality of the paper. For some papers, however, the Editors may reach the con…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Crossref Similarity Check for originality Model summary
To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other originality or duplicate checking software.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2004
- ISSN
- 1547-5271
- Electronic ISSN
- 1556-3871
- Society / sponsor
- Heart Rhythm Society
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Heart Rhythm
What CAS zone is Heart Rhythm in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Heart Rhythm is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Heart Rhythm?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.35; CiteScore 6.6, h-index 196.
How long does peer review take at Heart Rhythm?
Based on the dates recorded on 186 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 61 days (interquartile range 38–101 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 5%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Heart Rhythm?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Heart Rhythm based?
Of the 247 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 0%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (149), Canada (15) and Italy (13). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Heart Rhythm?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Heart Rhythm is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Heart Rhythm open access, and what is the APC?
Heart Rhythm is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,790.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .