Heart: review time and acceptance speed
ISSN 1355-6037 · ISSN 1468-201X · BMJ · Medicine
Half of the articles Heart accepted in 2025 were accepted within 138 days of submission (n = 217); the middle half took 104–186 days.
Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026
How long does Heart take to accept a paper?
| Year | Articles (n) | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | 90th pct | Accepted <14 days | Have a revised date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 217 | 104 | 138 | 186 | 224 | 0.0% | 0% |
| 2024 | 121 | 92 | 119 | 149 | — | 0.0% | 0% |
| 2023 | 168 | 74 | 97 | 117 | — | 0.0% | 0% |
| 2022 | 161 | 79 | 98 | 118 | — | 0.0% | 0% |
| 2021 | 207 | 76 | 98 | 118 | 135 | 0.0% | 37% |
| 2020 | 233 | 71 | 94 | 120 | 138 | 0.9% | 100% |
- 2026: not shown yet — a year is reported once late-indexed articles have arrived (at least 180 days after it ends).
Research articles vs reviews (2025)
| Type | n | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research articles | 156 | 108 | 140 | 193 |
| Reviews | 61 | 92 | 127 | 174 |
Distribution in 2025
Show as a table
| Days | Articles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–29 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 30–59 | 5 | 2.3% |
| 60–89 | 22 | 10.1% |
| 90–119 | 62 | 28.6% |
| 120–149 | 35 | 16.1% |
| 150–179 | 32 | 14.7% |
| 180–209 | 27 | 12.4% |
| 210–239 | 23 | 10.6% |
| 240–269 | 8 | 3.7% |
| 270–299 | 2 | 0.9% |
| 300–329 | 1 | 0.5% |
| 330–359 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 360+ | 0 | 0.0% |
From acceptance to online publication
After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 215 days (middle half 155–263 days, n = 217).
From submission to online publication, the median was 350 days (middle half 286–417 days, n = 217).
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
Hybrid (subscription journal with an open-access option). No listed APC found in DOAJ or OpenAlex. That does not mean publishing is free — check the journal's author guidelines.
OpenAPC has fewer than 5 reported payments for this journal in 2023–2025, so no typical amount is shown.
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 DOAJ | No |
|---|---|
| Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025 | Yes |
| Retractions | 0 retracted articles among 1,153 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database. |
| Accepted within 14 days of submission | 0.0% of 2025 articles |
| Publication volume | 250 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+87% vs 2024). |
Topics and scope
- Cardiac Imaging and Diagnostics (9% of indexed topics)
- Cardiac Valve Diseases and Treatments (8% of indexed topics)
- Cardiovascular Function and Risk Factors (8% of indexed topics)
- Congenital Heart Disease Studies (7% of indexed topics)
- Cardiac Arrhythmias and Treatments (6% of indexed topics)
- Acute Myocardial Infarction Research (6% of indexed topics)
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, 138 days.
| Paid APC median | DOAJ | MEDLINE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia | 76 (2025, n = 97) | No fee (DOAJ) | — | Yes | Yes |
| International Journal of Cardiology | 76 (2025, n = 484) | ≈$3,970 | — | No | Yes |
| Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine | 52 (2025, n = 121) | — | — | No | Yes |
| The Egyptian Heart Journal | 146 (2025, n = 102) | No fee (DOAJ) | — | Yes | No |
| Revista Española de Cardiología (English Edition) | 68 (2025, n = 182) | ≈$3,160 | — | No | Yes |
| World Journal of Cardiology | 94 (2025, n = 159) | — | — | No | No |
| The American Journal of Cardiology | 53 (2025, n = 410) | ≈$3,380 | — | No | Yes |
| Hellenic Journal of Cardiology | 81 (2025, n = 56) | No fee (DOAJ) | — | Yes | Yes |
| Clinical Research in Cardiology | 99 (2025, n = 214) | ≈$4,190 | — | No | Yes |
| Cardiology Research | 56 (2025, n = 57) | — | — | No | No |
No journals match these filters.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Heart take to accept a paper?
Half of the articles Heart accepted in 2025 were accepted within 138 days of submission (n = 217); the middle half took 104–186 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.
How long after acceptance are Heart articles published online?
Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 215 days of acceptance (n = 217).
Does Heart charge an article processing charge (APC)?
No listed APC found in DOAJ or OpenAlex. That does not mean publishing is free — check the journal's author guidelines.
Sources and method
Journal identity: ISSN-L 1355-6037; NLM ID 9602087; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 217 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.