JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital technology applications in cardiology have become a popular research focus in recent years. However, there has been no published bibliometric report that analyzed the corresponding academic literature in order to derive key publishing trends and characteristics of the scientific area.

Objective:

We used a bibliometric approach to identify and analyze the academic literature on digital technology applications in cardiology, and to unveil popular research topics, key authors, institutions, countries, and journals. We further captured the heart conditions and diagnostic tools most commonly investigated within the field.

Methods:

The Web of Science electronic database was queried to find relevant publications on digital technology applications in cardiology. Publication and citation data were acquired directly from the database. Complete bibliographic data were exported to VOSviewer, a dedicated bibliometric software package, to relate them to the semantic content of the titles, abstracts, and keywords, and to construct a term map visualization.

Results:

The analysis was based on data from 12 529 publications. Four of the top five most productive institutions were based in the United States, which was the most productive country to be followed by several European countries and China. Cardiac conditions frequently investigated in the literature included hypertension, atrial fibrillation, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and arterial stiffness. Recurring investigative modalities included ECG, angiography, echocardiography, digital subtraction angiography, and photoplethysmography. For the literature subset on smartphone apps and wearable devices, the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) and JMIR-portfolio journals were the major publishing venues.

Conclusions:

Our bibliometric analysis revealed that digital applications in cardiology target physicians, patients, and the general public, and their functions ranged from assisting diagnosis, recording cardiovascular parameters, and patient education, to teaching laypersons about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This field already makes big healthcare impacts and we anticipate that in the near future it will continue growing which will further increase its significance.