Research map of global trends, hotspots, and emerging topics in cardiovascular disease: A bibliometric analysis

Cardiology and cardiovascular medicine (CCM) journals hold a critical role in advancing medical research. This study aims to analyze bibliometric trends across CCM journals categorized into quartiles (Q1-Q4) based on the Scimago Journal Rank, to identify research hotspots, productive contributors, and emerging topics within the field. A systematic search was conducted in the Scopus database to collect bibliometric data from CCM journals spanning Q1 to Q4 categories. Journals were filtered by subject area "Medicine" and subject category "Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine." Bibliometric data were extracted using Excel and analyzed with VOSviewer software. Co-occurrence analysis of author keywords and visualization of research trends were performed for each quartile. A total of 113,482 documents from 381 CCM journals were analyzed, with 50.5% originating from Q1 journals, 24.5% from Q2, 17.3% from Q3, and 7.7% from Q4. "Heart Failure" emerged as the most frequent and influential keyword across all categories. "Cardiovascular Disease" and "COVID-19" are also showing high citation impact. Co-occurrence analysis revealed distinct research clusters, with thematic maps highlighting key topics. Emerging topics included "COVID-19" in Q2 journals and "Endovascular Procedures" in Q4 journals, reflecting current advancements in CCM research. This bibliometric analysis highlights variations in research focus and productivity across CCM journal quartiles. "Heart Failure" remains the primary research focus, while emerging topics like "COVID-19" and "Endovascular Procedures" demonstrate the field's evolving priorities. "Heart Failure" emerged as the most frequent and influential keyword across all categories. "Cardiovascular Disease" and "COVID-19" also show high citation impact.