Journal profile · Respiratory System
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
ISSN 0022-5223 · eISSN 1097-685X · Mosby Inc. · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1959
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.37; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,500; median 68 days to acceptance (120 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 25%; 540 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is published by Mosby Inc. and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cardiac Valve Diseases and Treatments, Aortic Disease and Treatment Approaches and Congenital Heart Disease Studies, together about 32.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery presents original, peer-reviewed articles on diseases of the heart, great vessels, lungs and thorax with emphasis on surgical interventions. An official publication of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association, the Journal focuses on techniques and developments in acquired cardiac surgery, congenital cardiac repair, thoracic procedures, heart and lung transplantation, mechanical circulatory support and other procedures.The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery has three open access companion titles:JTCVS OpenJTCVS TechniquesJTCVS Structural and Endovascular
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Respiratory System
Editor-in-chief G. Alexander PattersonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 198, Canada 18, Italy 8, Japan 6, United Kingdom 3 (246 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cardiac Valve Diseases and TreatmentsMedicine13%
- Aortic Disease and Treatment ApproachesMedicine10%
- Congenital Heart Disease StudiesMedicine9.4%
- Cardiac and Coronary Surgery TechniquesMedicine7.9%
- Cardiac Structural Anomalies and RepairMedicine6.2%
- Mechanical Circulatory Support DevicesEngineering5.6%
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical OutcomesMedicine4.9%
- Lung Cancer Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Surgery | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Respiratory System | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 4.37LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.82LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 180LetPub ·
- h-index
- 295OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 18,221OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.67OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.81%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 312LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 41,825 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 921 | 384 | 151 |
| 2025 | 540 | 200 | 997 |
| 2024 | 612 | 326 | 2,308 |
| 2023 | 656 | 613 | 3,702 |
| 2022 | 777 | 775 | 4,972 |
| 2021 | 1,254 | 1,251 | 7,924 |
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
68 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 44 days – 107 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 19 days (120 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 92 days
- Sample
- 120 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,231 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 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 25%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 29 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 46 daysPublisher 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 4,500 / EUR 4,210 / GBP 3,600 / JPY 558,140 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,680 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 4,680 (excluding taxes). The amount you pay may be reduced during submission if applicable.Review this journal’s open access 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
- Mosby Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1959
- ISSN
- 0022-5223
- Electronic ISSN
- 1097-685X
- Society / sponsor
- American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
What CAS zone is Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Surgery / Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems / Respiratory System; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.37; CiteScore 10, h-index 295.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery?
Based on the dates recorded on 120 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 68 days (interquartile range 44–107 days); authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 25%”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery based?
Of the 246 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (198), Canada (18) and Italy (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,500.
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: .