About Die Kardiologie

Die Kardiologie

Die Kardiologie is a German-language specialist journal for cardiology, published by Springer Medizin in Berlin as part of Springer Nature. Until 2022 it appeared under the title Der Kardiologe, before being renamed as part of a broad gender-inclusivity initiative by the publisher that replaced titles based on male professional designations with titles based on medical disciplines. The journal offers a state of the art for all cardiologists working in practice and hospitals, covering all areas of cardiology in a practice-oriented manner with a focus on secured knowledge of high relevance for daily work. It is one of the journals of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie – Herz- und Kreislaufforschung (DGK), and its content spectrum includes the society's current guidelines and recommendations, overviews from clinical pharmacology, and practice-relevant case reports. All of its articles are reviewed.

Overview

Die Kardiologie is a continuing-education journal aimed at cardiologists in office-based practice and hospitals, as well as scientists interested in issues of cardiology. Its concept centres on providing a state of the art across all areas of cardiology, with the focus on secured knowledge of high relevance for daily work rather than on primary research.

The content spectrum includes the current guidelines and recommendations of the German Cardiac Society, overviews from clinical pharmacology, and practice-relevant case reports. The guidelines coverage is a particular strength: by carrying the DGK's current recommendations and expert commentaries on European guidelines, the journal ensures that German cardiologists can follow both national and international standards in a single publication. In the Journal Club rubric, experts comment on outstanding publications from the international literature. The CME certified-training rubric offers secured results of scientific research and makes physicians' experience usable for daily practice; after reading the articles, readers can test their knowledge and earn CME points online. All articles in the journal are reviewed, and the journal's aims and scope are presented in both German and English on the publisher's platform.

The journal's print ISSN is 2731-7129 and its electronic ISSN is 2731-7137, with the DOI prefix 10.1007/s12181, under which every article is individually citable through Crossmark. It is one of five journals associated with the DGK, alongside Basic Research in Cardiology, Clinical Research in Cardiology, Herzschrittmacher + Elektrophysiologie, and Cardio News.

History

The journal was founded as Der Kardiologe within the Springer Medizin portfolio, serving the continuing-education needs of German cardiologists. It was renamed Die Kardiologie in 2022 as part of Springer Medizin's sweeping equality initiative, in which titles based on male professional designations were replaced with titles based on the medical disciplines themselves, following the concept of "Der Facharzt" becoming "Die Fachdisziplin". Der Kardiologe became Die Kardiologie in the same wave that turned Der Anaesthesist into Die Anaesthesiologie, Der Chirurg into Die Chirurgie, Der Internist into Die Innere Medizin, Der Gynäkologe into Die Gynäkologie, Der Hautarzt into Die Dermatologie, Der Onkologe into Die Onkologie, and Der Diabetologe into Die Diabetologie.

The journal's close relationship with the DGK shapes its content. The society, founded on 3 June 1927 in Bad Nauheim as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kreislaufforschung on the initiative of professors Bruno Kisch and Arthur Weber, is the oldest cardiological society in Europe. It was called the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herz- und Kreislaufforschung from 1979 and has operated under its current name since 1994. The society uses the journal as a venue for its guidelines, curricula, and commentaries. In March 2025, Prof. Dr. Eckart Fleck of the DGK published an editorial in the journal on new developments in the specialty and in the journal itself, reflecting the ongoing dialogue between the society and the publication. The journal has also served as the publication venue for the DGK's training curricula, such as the 2023 curricula for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and cardiac computed tomography, with subsequent addenda updating the certification requirements for training sites, including the introduction of network certification for sites working in cooperation with recognized centres.

Coverage and Content

The journal covers the full spectrum of cardiology: coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias and electrophysiology, valvular heart disease, hypertension, preventive cardiology, and interventional cardiology. Each issue carries the current guidelines and recommendations of the DGK, making the journal a reference point for standardized cardiological care in Germany. A 2025 issue, for example, carried the DGK's commentary on the 2024 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of elevated blood pressure and hypertension, summarizing the key innovations and discussing their practical implementation in the German healthcare context.

The Journal Club rubric has experts comment on outstanding publications from the international literature, keeping readers connected to global cardiology research. Practice-relevant case reports aim at optimizing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, and overviews from clinical pharmacology address the drug therapy questions of daily practice. The CME certified-training rubric presents verified research results and their integration into daily practice, with online knowledge testing and CME points.

The journal also publishes the DGK's training curricula and qualifications, such as the curriculum for cardiology specialist assistants in interventional cardiology, which builds on the basic curriculum and aims to strengthen the competencies of non-physician staff in interventional cardiology. In interventional cardiology, medical assistants, nursing staff, surgical technical assistants, and medical technologists support physicians in their daily work, and the highly complex diagnostic and interventional procedures of the field require increasingly well-trained personnel in both the medical and non-medical areas. The journal's publication of these curricula gives it a role in the training infrastructure of the specialty beyond physician continuing education.

Organization and Ownership

Die Kardiologie is published by Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, the medical publishing division of Springer Nature, headquartered in Berlin. The journal is closely associated with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie – Herz- und Kreislaufforschung, founded in 1927 and the oldest cardiological society in Europe, and it is listed among the society's journals. The journal is indexed with the DOI prefix 10.1007/s12181, and all of its articles are reviewed, from guideline commentaries to Journal Club contributions and training curricula.

Subscription and customer service are handled through the publisher's service centre, and the editorial office can be contacted directly through the journal's page on the publisher's website. The editorial leadership, such as the name of the current editor-in-chief, is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted, and the journal's masthead is not widely publicized outside the trade.

Digital Presence

Die Kardiologie is fully integrated into Springer Medizin's digital ecosystem. The journal's page on the publisher's website presents its aims and scope in German and English, the current and recent issues, and the standard rubrics of guidelines, Journal Club, case reports, and CME courses. Articles are published with DOIs and are available through Springer Nature Link, where they can be cited and downloaded.

The journal's digital identity lives within the Springer Medizin and Springer Nature Link platforms rather than on a standalone brand site, which is standard for the publisher's specialist journals. Subscription management is handled online and through the customer service centre, and the editorial office can be contacted directly through the journal's page on the publisher's website, which also invites reader feedback. Whether the journal maintains dedicated social media channels is not publicly confirmed from the sources consulted, and its online presence remains centred on the publisher's platforms.