Reflections on my journey as editor-in-chief of Open Heart
As I approach the end of my tenure as founding editor-in-chief of Open Heart , I am filled with a sense reflection on this very exciting journey. When we launched Open Heart in January 2014, our mission was to advance scientific publishing in cardiovascular sciences by embracing open science, making research results available to everyone. This was a response to the limitations of traditional publishing models and a commitment to enhance scientific progress and global access to research. This journey, while immensely rewarding, also presented unique challenges and learning experiences that shaped both the journal and my perspective on scientific open access publishing. Initially, concerns were raised about open access potentially reducing publication quality. However, Open Heart has consistently disproved these fears. Our unwavering editorial independence has ensured that financial considerations do not collide with our commitment to publishing impactful and relevant articles. In our in