The top 100 most cited articles in cardiovascular research: A bibliometric perspective

The aim is to analyze the citation dynamics, and research focus of the top 100 most cited cardiovascular research.

Data were retrieved from the Scopus database in January 2025, focusing on journals containing the term "cardio" in their title. Only original research articles and reviews were included. The data were analyzed using VOSviewer and R Studio to assess co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, citation mapping, and citation impact indicators.

A total of 100 articles, published between 1967 and 2020, were included in the analysis. These articles had an average of 2,285 citations each. The growth rate of publications was 3.74 %, with an average document age of 20.8 years. Collaboration was extensive, with 1,653 authors contributing to these papers, and 25 % of publications involved international collaboration. Citation analysis showed increasing citation rates over time, with recent papers achieving significant impact in a short period. The top authors, universities, countries, and sources of publication were identified, revealing the global nature of cardiovascular research and its collaborative nature. The title co-words analysis was also performed to understand the main focus of the most cited papers.

This study offers a deeper understanding of the most cited cardiovascular research papers, addressing gaps in previous bibliometric studies by providing insights into citation dynamics, author collaborations, and thematic shifts. Future studies should explore the quality of research and expand the scope of bibliometric analyses.