Editors' page

Abstract

The journal is in its third year, growing steadily with a fair amount of dynamism thanks to our contributors and readers. In this issue, another new feature is introduced to deal with the contribution of great universities to science, medicine and cardiology. The first in this series is by Gaetano Thiene’s group about the contributions of the University of Padua and the Republic of Venice, which spans a period of eight centuries and continues today.

We are also delighted to have the insightful contribution from Stuart Spencer of The Lancet, who provides his reflections on the recently published Global Burden of Disease study. His paper highlights the impact of chronic diseases, most notably cardiovascular disease, on the healthcare resources of both developed and developing countries. His paper was the highlight of the recent El Gouna meeting on the vulnerable plaque, which we summarize in this issue of the journal.

The balance of articles continues to be an almost equal divide between science and cardiology practice, with at least one article in each issue addressing global topics. We hope the Journal is achieving heady expectations, and welcome comments.