Dear Reader,

As we reach the final issue of the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs for 2019, we wish to reflect on another successful year’s achievements, and to thank all those who have contributed their time and effort to guarantee the high quality of our content.

2019 was a successful year for the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs. Over 50 articles have been published; the most popular of these, in terms of downloads from SpringerLink, have been:

  • Sugawara M, Goto Y, Yamazaki T, Teramoto T, Oikawa S, Shimada K, Uchiyama S, Ando K, Ishizuka N, Murata M, Yokoyama K, Uemura Y, Ikeda Y; Japanese Primary Prevention Project (JPPP) Study Group. Low-Dose Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events in Elderly Japanese Patients with Atherosclerotic Risk Factors: Subanalysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial (JPPP-70). Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):299–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-0313-0.

  • Han SN, Yang WH, Yin JJ, Tao HL, Zhang LR. Drug Treatment of Hyperlipidemia in Chinese Patients: Focus on the Use of Simvastatin and Ezetimibe Alone and in Combination. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):237–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-00317-1.

  • Goyal N, Skrdla P, Schroyer R, Kumar S, Fernando D, Oughton A, Norton N, Sprecher DL, Cheriyan J. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of a Novel, First-in-Class TRPV4 Ion Channel Inhibitor, GSK2798745, in Healthy and Heart Failure Subjects. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):335–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-00320-6.

  • Deedwania P, Acharya T. Cardiovascular Protection with Anti-hyperglycemic Agents. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):249–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-019-00325-9.

  • Garonzik S, Byon W, Myers E, Li X, Marchisin D, Murthy B. The Effects of Clarithromycin on the Pharmacokinetics of Apixaban in Healthy Volunteers: A Single-Sequence Crossover Study. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019; 19(6):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-019-00348-2.

  • Nicholls SJ, Nelson AJ. Rivaroxaban With or Without Aspirin for the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Clinical Implications of the COMPASS Trial. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Aug;19(4):343–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-00322-4.

  • Feng Y, Huang R, Kavanagh J, Li L, Zeng X, Li Y, Fu P. Efficacy and Safety of Dual Blockade of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System in Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Meta-Analysis. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):259–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-00321-5.

  • Mooradian AD. Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Risk Management in Diabetes. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Oct;19(5):439–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-019-00336-6.

  • Senatore F, Jagadeesh G, Rose M, Pillai VC, Hariharan S, Liu Q, McDowell TY, Sapru MK, Southworth MR, Stockbridge N. FDA Approval of Angiotensin II for the Treatment of Hypotension in Adults with Distributive Shock. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Feb;19(1):11–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-0297-9.

  • Huet F, Akodad M, Kalmanovitch E, Adda J, Agullo A, Batistella P, Roubille C, Roubille F. Potential Uses of Sacubitril/Valsartan: Need for Data on Efficacy and Safety. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Feb;19(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-0306-z.

Social media sharing of information has become important and is another metric with which to measure the reach of articles. This year the following articles published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs scored highly on the Altmetric system:

  • Cao YX, Liu HH, Li S, Li JJ. A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of PCSK9-Monoclonal Antibodies on Circulating Lipoprotein (a) Levels. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Feb;19(1):87–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-0303-2.

  • Sheikh-Taha M. Idarucizumab for Reversal of Dabigatran: Single-Center Real-World Experience. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Feb;19(1):59–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-0300-5.

  • Rago A, Papa AA, Cassese A, Arena G, Magliocca MCG, D’Onofrio A, Golino P, Nigro G, Russo V. Clinical Performance of Apixaban vs. Vitamin K Antagonists in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Direct Electrical Current Cardioversion: A Prospective Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Aug;19(4):421–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-019-00341-9.

  • Deedwania P, Acharya T. Cardiovascular Protection with Anti-hyperglycemic Agents. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):249–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-019-00325-9.

  • Goyal N, Skrdla P, Schroyer R, Kumar S, Fernando D, Oughton A, Norton N, Sprecher DL, Cheriyan J. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of a Novel, First-in-Class TRPV4 Ion Channel Inhibitor, GSK2798745, in Healthy and Heart Failure Subjects. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2019 Jun;19(3):335–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-018-00320-6.

The quality of articles published in the journal is also reflected in its most recent impact factor of 2.578. The American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs is now ranked 62/136 journals in the ‘Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems’ category [Clarivate Analytics]. The Journal’s 2018 CiteScore is 2.12, with a ranking of 89/322 journals in the ‘Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine’ category [Scopus].

We thank the authors who have contributed articles to the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs over the course of 2019. The skill and dedication of all authors are critical to the continued publication of the journal. The quality of published articles is also testament to the significant efforts of the peer reviewers, whose commitment ensures that the journal’s content is held to the highest possible standard. We would like to thank the following individuals who acted as reviewers for the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs in the last 12 months:

Ran Abuhasira, Israel

Manyoo Agarwal, USA

Mehmet Agirbasli, Turkey

Satoshi Akagi, Japan

Aneta Aleksova, Italy

Marco Alings, The Netherlands

Turki A.I. Althunian, The Netherlands

Arturo Anadón, Spain

Dominick J. Angiolillo, USA

Jack E. Ansell, USA

Mohamed Ayan, USA

Philip Aylward, Australia

Ebru Aypar, Turkey

Upendra Baitha, India

Vinod K. Bansal, USA

Ayse Baysal, Turkey

Alessandro Belletti, Italy

Jerzy Beltowski, Poland

Manju B. Jayanna, USA

Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Italy

Dirk J. Blom, South Africa

Sylvia Boesch, Austria

Kwadwo O. Bonsu, Malaysia

Giuseppe Boriani, Italy

Eliot A. Brinton, USA

Carlos Brotons, Spain

Liam R. Brunham, Canada

Levent Cerit, Cyprus

María Cespón Fernández, Spain

Oliver Chen, USA

Robert J. Chilton, USA

Ujjwal K. Chowdhury, India

Jennifer Clemente, USA

Ashish Correa, USA

Adam Cuker, USA

Fabrizio D’Ascenzo, Italy

Rita Del Pinto, Italy

Simon B. Dimmitt, Australia

Helena Domínguez, Denmark

Henning Drechsler, USA

Andre Rodrigues Duraes, Brazil

Jana B. Ernst, Germany

David Faraoni, Canada

Harrison W. Farber, USA

Anke C. Fender, Germany

Jonathan Fialkow, USA

Ashley N. Fox, USA

Hidekatsu Fukuta, Japan

Luis Furuya-Kanamori, Qatar

Mark M. Gallagher, UK

Sanjay Ganapathi, India

Carmine Gazzaruso, Italy

Eugenia Gkaliagkousi, Greece

Tyler Gluckman, USA

Isabelle Gouin-Thibault, France

Remco B. Grobben, The Netherlands

Garrie J. Haas, USA

Walter E. Haefeli, Germany

Benjamin Hibbert, Canada

Niels P.G. Hoedemaker, The Netherlands

Young Hoon Jeong, Republic of Korea

Wenjun Ju, USA

Chris J. Kapelios, Greece

Juan P. Kaski, UK

Michael S. Kelly, USA

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, USA

Yaariv Khaykin, Canada

Moo Hyun Kim, Republic of Korea

Jonathan A. Kirk, USA

Robert Lasley, USA

Carl J. Lavie, USA

Astin Lee, Australia

David L. Jimenez, Spain

Danny Liew, Australia

Chulaporn Limwattananon, Thailand

Ping Ting Lin, Taiwan

Krister Lindmark, Sweden

Thomas F. Lindsay, Canada

Hua Ling, USA

Ran Liu, China

Peizhi Ma, China

Aaqib H. Malik, USA

Krzysztof Malinowski, Poland

Umit Yavuz Malkan, Turkey

Edoardo Mannucci, Italy

Antonis S. Manolis, Greece

Andrea Messori, Italy

Joan W. Miller, USA

Mark A. Munger, USA

Saul G. Myerson, UK

Tarek Nafee, USA

Toshiyuki Nagai, Japan

Nitish Naik, India

Kazuhiko Nakayama, Japan

Shane Nanayakkara, Australia

Marek Napierala, USA

Keumhan Noh, Canada

Kehinde O. Obamiro, Australia

Horst Olschewski, Austria

Vicki Osborne, UK

Roberto Padrini, Italy

Akhil Parashar, USA

Jesper Park-Hansen, Denmark

Sweta Patel, USA

Carlos Pérez-Sánchez, UK

Sylvie Perreault, Canada

Rebabonye B. Pharithi, Ireland

Pasquale Pignatelli, Italy

Marco Proietti, Italy

Alessandro Putzu, Switzerland

Sivasubramanian Ramakrishnan, India

Jamal S. Rana, USA

Bernhard Rauch, Germany

Stefan Reers, Germany

Zeljko Reiner, Croatia

Yousef Rezaei, Islamic Republic of Iran

Janine E. Roeters van Lennep, The Netherlands

Giuseppe M.C. Rosano, UK

Federica Saponaro, Italy

Chandler D. Schexnayder, USA

Stephan H. Schirmer, Germany

Sebastian Schneeweiss, USA

Gregory G. Schwartz, USA

Greg Scutt, UK

Jessica Shami, China

Jaekyu Shin, USA

Sara Själander, Sweden

Nika Skoro-Sajer, Austria

David M. Smadja, France

Mette Sogaard, Denmark

Rabie Soliman, Egypt

Erik S.G. Stroes, The Netherlands

Beth A. Taylor, USA

Paul D. Thompson, USA

Bruno Trimarco, Italy

Jean Triscott, Canada

Stella Trompet, The Netherlands

Sotirios Tsimikas, USA

Kengo Tsukahara, Japan

Konstantinos Tziomalos, Greece

Bharathi Upadhya, USA

Mate Vamos, Germany

Gurpreet S. Wander, India

Changqian Wang, China

Björn Wettermark, Sweden

Lingling Wu, USA

Xuanqian Xie, Canada

Ji Yin, China

Barak Zafrir, Israel

Michel Zeitouni, France

Henry Zhao, Australia


In addition, we would like to thank the members of the journal’s Honorary Editorial Board, who have acted as peer reviewers and authors, and have provided guidance on journal content, policy and processes:

A. Michael Lincoff, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA [Consulting Editor]

Balram Bhargava, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Deepak L. Bhatt, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center, Boston, MA, USA

Prakash C. Deedwania, University of California at San Francisco, Fresno, CA, USA

Naranjan S. Dhalla, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Phillip A. Erwin, South Miami Heart Specialists, South Miami, FL, USA

Arthur M. Feldman, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Valentin Fuster, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Xavier Girerd, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

Sidney Goldstein, Henry Ford Heart and Vascular Institute, Detroit, MI, USA

Joseph A. Hill, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

Gowraganahalli Jagadeesh, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Neal S. Kleiman, The Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, Houston, TX, USA

Antoine Lafont, Université Paris-Descartes, Paris, France

Thierry H. Le Jemtel, Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA, USA

Mario Marzilli, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Venu Menon, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

Gilles Montalescot, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France

Doralisa Morrone, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Stephen G. Nicholls, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia

Ali Oto, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

Bertram Pitt, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Silvia G. Priori, Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri, Pavia, Italy

C. Venkata S. Ram, Texas Blood Pressure Institute, Dallas, TX, USA

Gianpaolo Reboldi, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

Gaetano Santulli, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

Johanne Silvain, Institut de Cardiologie, Paris, France

Kewal K. Talwar, Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India

Michal Tendera, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Udho Thadani, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Alec Vahanian, Groupe Hospitalier Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France

George W. Vetrovec, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

Michael A. Weber, State University of New York, New York, NY, USA

William S. Weintraub, Christiana Care Health Services, Newark, DE, USA

Harvey D. White, Green Lane Cardiovascular Service, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand

Nathen D. Wong, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA


We do hope that you have found the articles published throughout the year in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs to be interesting and informative. The editorial schedule for 2020 is well under way, and we are looking forward to bringing you many high-quality and authoritative articles over the coming year.


With best wishes,

Amitabh Prakash