Heart & Lung: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 0147-9563 · ISSN 1527-3288 · Elsevier BV · Medicine

Half of the articles Heart & Lung accepted in 2025 were accepted within 126 days of submission (n = 212); the middle half took 95–153 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
126 days median
middle half 95–153 · n = 212
Acceptance → online
8 days median
middle half 7–11 · n = 212
Change since 2023
Slower than 2023: the median rose from 96 to 126 days (90% CI +20 to +40 days).
Open access · fees
OA status not determined · ≈$3,600

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does Heart & Lung take to accept a paper?

days0601201802402020: middle half 82–159 days1132020n=1602021: middle half 76–169 days1222021n=1192022: middle half 87–168 days1172022n=1542023: middle half 70–134 days962023n=1492024: middle half 80–157 days1102024n=1652025: middle half 95–153 days1262025n=212
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
2025212951261531930.5%100%
2024165801101570.0%100%
202314970961340.0%100%
2022154871171680.7%99%
2021119761221692.5%97%
2020160821131595.6%94%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 0% (1 articles)030–59 days: 1% (2 articles)3060–89 days: 19% (41 articles)6090–119 days: 23% (48 articles)90120–149 days: 28% (59 articles)120150–179 days: 15% (31 articles)150180–209 days: 9% (19 articles)180210–239 days: 3% (7 articles)210240–269 days: 0% (1 articles)240270–299 days: 1% (3 articles)270300–329 days: 0% (0 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (0 articles)330360+ days: 0% (0 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2910.5%
30–5920.9%
60–894119.3%
90–1194822.6%
120–1495927.8%
150–1793114.6%
180–209199.0%
210–23973.3%
240–26910.5%
270–29931.4%
300–32900.0%
330–35900.0%
360+00.0%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 8 days (middle half 7–11 days, n = 212).

From submission to online publication, the median was 137 days (middle half 104–163 days, n = 212).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Subscription or hybrid (not determined). Listed APC: about $3,600 (as reported by OpenAlex).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJNo
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025Yes
Retractions2 retracted articles among 782 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (2.56 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.5% of 2025 articles
Publication volume189 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+12% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journalsCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Heart & Lung, 126 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing54 (2025, n = 216)≈$3,792NoYes
Journal of Cardiac Failure61 (2025, n = 182)≈$3,970NoYes
JACC Heart Failure107 (2025, n = 193)≈$5,000NoYes
ESC Heart Failure121 (2025, n = 280)≈$5,525$4,421 (9 payments)YesYes
European Journal of Heart Failure87 (2025, n = 265)≈$5,300NoYes
Current Problems in Cardiology9 (2025, n = 125)≈$3,650NoYes
Qatar medical journal143 (2025, n = 97)No fee (DOAJ)YesNo
Circulation Reports6 (2025, n = 234)NoNo
European Journal of Internal Medicine55 (2025, n = 257)≈$3,520NoYes
European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes89 (2025, n = 107)≈$4,591NoYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Heart & Lung take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Heart & Lung accepted in 2025 were accepted within 126 days of submission (n = 212); the middle half took 95–153 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Heart & Lung articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 8 days of acceptance (n = 212).

Does Heart & Lung charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: about $3,600 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 0147-9563; NLM ID 0330057; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 212 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.