Journal profile · Surgery
HEART SURGERY FORUM
ISSN 1098-3511 · eISSN 1522-6662 · Carden Jennings Publishing Co. Ltd · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1998
HEART SURGERY FORUM: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.68; fully open access; APC about USD 1,500; review about 77 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 120 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
HEART SURGERY FORUM is published by Carden Jennings Publishing Co. Ltd and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cardiac and Coronary Surgery Techniques, Cardiac Valve Diseases and Treatments and Aortic Disease and Treatment Approaches, together about 37.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Heart Surgery Forum (HSF) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to publishing clinical and translational research in cardiac surgery. HSF provides a platform for disseminating scientific knowledge and clinical experience in the treatment of cardiac disease, aiming to advance understanding and practice in heart surgery and related disciplines. The scope of HSF covers broad areas of cardiac surgical science and practice, including adult cardiac surgery, congenital heart disease, heart and lung transplantation, cardiovascular interventional surgery, mechanical circulatory support, and perioperative management, as well as multidisciplinary fields related to cardiac surgery such as imaging, anesthesiology, perfusion, radiology, pharmacology, critical care, and nursing. HSF publishes original articles, review papers, systematic reviews, case reports, surgical techniques, opinions, editorials, and other type articles. The journal also offers educational content and visual learning materials to enhance understanding and engagement among professionals. HSF is committed to improving communication and advancing cardiac surgery practices worldwide by promoting collaboration between cardiac surgeons and multidisciplinary teams. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Adult Cardiac Surgery Coronary Artery Disease Valvular Surgery Aortic and Great Vessel Surgery Congenital Heart Disease Heart and Lung Transplantation Interventional Cardiology and Hybrid Procedures Cardiac Anesthesiology Minimally Invasive and Robotic Cardiac Surgery Perfusion Technology Mechanical Circulatory Support Perioperative and Critical Care Cardiovascular Imaging and Diagnostics Surgical Innovation and Techniques Translational and Experimental Research Cardiothoracic Nursing and Rehabilitation Cardio Surgical Education, Training, and Simulation Outcomes Research and Quality Improvement
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Surgery
Editor-in-chief Haiyang LiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 18 in mainland China (about 20%); most named United States 23, Mainland China 18, Italy 11, Germany 9, United Kingdom 6 (92 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cardiac and Coronary Surgery TechniquesMedicine15.1%
- Cardiac Valve Diseases and TreatmentsMedicine12.1%
- Aortic Disease and Treatment ApproachesMedicine10.5%
- Cardiac Structural Anomalies and RepairMedicine7.2%
- Congenital Heart Disease StudiesMedicine6.2%
- Mechanical Circulatory Support DevicesEngineering5.6%
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical OutcomesMedicine4.4%
- Infective Endocarditis Diagnosis and ManagementMedicine4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 0.68LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 0.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 414OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 97.97%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 109LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 1Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,539 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 82 | 82 | 4 |
| 2025 | 120 | 120 | 67 |
| 2024 | 181 | 181 | 146 |
| 2023 | 121 | 121 | 325 |
| 2022 | 149 | 149 | 439 |
| 2021 | 190 | 190 | 912 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
77 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports 6–12 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 35 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 77 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 15 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,500 | Yes | CC BY |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 350 words
- Keywords
- 3–10
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Templates
- Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional, 2
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship 7. Authorship
According to the ICMJE guidelines, to qualify as an author a contributor should meet each of these four criteria: they have (i) made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (ii) been involved in drafting the manuscript or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; and (iii) given final approval of the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest 10. Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare whether there are any potential conflicts of interest (COIs) regarding the publication and handling of a study. Authors will declare their conflicts of interest in every published article and the name of Academic Editors who make the final decision will appear in published articles. The editors and peer reviewers should declare their COIs to the Editori…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 8. Copyright/Open Access
Most articles published in Volumes 1–27, Issue 8 (1998–2024) are copyrighted by IMR Press. The authors retain copyright in individual open-access articles. Articles published from Volume 27, Issue 9 (2024) through to Volume 28, Issue 8 (2025) are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). The authors retain copyright in these articles. …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 8. Copyright/Open Access
Most articles published in Volumes 1–27, Issue 8 (1998–2024) are copyrighted by IMR Press. The authors retain copyright in individual open-access articles. Articles published from Volume 27, Issue 9 (2024) through to Volume 28, Issue 8 (2025) are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). The authors retain copyright in these articles. …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 12. Editorial Process and Peer-Review
IMR operates rigorous and transparent peer-review process and editorial process that aims to maximize quality. Peer-review is handled by researchers and scholars. For more details, see our Editorial Process.
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
- Carden Jennings Publishing Co. Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1998
- ISSN
- 1098-3511
- Electronic ISSN
- 1522-6662
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about HEART SURGERY FORUM
What CAS zone is HEART SURGERY FORUM in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, HEART SURGERY FORUM is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems / Surgery. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of HEART SURGERY FORUM?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.68; CiteScore 1.1, h-index 39.
How long does peer review take at HEART SURGERY FORUM?
The publisher reports about 77 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 SURGERY FORUM?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 350 words; Keywords: 3–10; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Templates: Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional, 2. 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 SURGERY FORUM based?
Of the 92 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 18 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (23), Mainland China (18) and Italy (11). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index HEART SURGERY FORUM?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, HEART SURGERY FORUM is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is HEART SURGERY FORUM open access, and what is the APC?
HEART SURGERY FORUM is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,500.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, DOAJ, 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: .