A 30th anniversary and a glimpse of the future.

Abstract

In 1992, Lennart Hansson, Sverker Jern and Thomas Hedner, three enthusiastic and enterprising clinicians interested in hypertension research decided to create a new journal, which they entitled BLOOD PRESSURE (Figure 1). Their main objective was to ‘facilitate the communication of research findings as effectively as possible in order to stimulate exchange of new ideas and thereby initiate further progress’ [1]. As mentioned in their first editorial, the ambition was also to emphasise on clinical rather than on basic research. Initially, BLOOD PRESSURE was printed by Scandinavian University Press, a publishing company resulting from the merge of a Norwegian and a Swedish publisher, but today, after a consolidation within the scientific publishing sector, Taylor and Francis Ltd. is the official publisher of the journal. While celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2022, founders of BLOOD PRESSURE could be proud of the development of their journal. Indeed, over the years, BLOOD PRESSURE has witnessed an increasing popularity as a publisher of highimpact clinical research, which is reflected by a steadily rising impact factor, this latter having increased more than two-fold between 2010 and 2020 to reach 2.83. Several factors have contributed to the successful development of the journal. The first was undoubtedly the great contribution of Scandinavian investigators who covered a wide range of important hypertension topics from basic physiology, with world experts like Prof. Bj€ orn Folkow [2], to drug development and large clinical outcome studies with trial experts like Profs. Lennart Hansson, Bj€ orn Dahl€of, Hans Ibsen, Lars Lindholm, Per Lund-Johansen and Sverre E. Kjeldsen. Indeed, the development and the participation in large clinical morbidity and mortality trials in hypertension has become a ‘specialty’ of Nordic countries, which were perfectly organised and experienced to run such large trials. Thus, over the years, numerous outcome studies in hypertension were conducted in Scandinavia. These included for example STOP, STOP-2, CAPPP, NORDIL, HOT, LIFE, VALUE, ASCOT and ACCOMPLISH though with time large fractions of patients were also included in UK, USA and in other countries. Although results of these trials were always published in the Lancet or the New England Journal of Medicine, BLOOD PRESSURE benefitted a lot from these studies. In this respect, one reference article, published in BLOOD PRESSURE in 1992, is the first description of the PROBE (Prospective Randomised Open Blinded Endpoint) design for large clinical outcome trials, a method that became rapidly adopted for use in several large clinical morbidity and mortality outcome studies [3]. Papers describing protocols, including background, randomised populations and progress reports were frequently published in BLOOD PRESSURE. The second major factor is certainly the tight link between the journal and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). From its introduction, the journal enjoyed the full support and endorsement of the ESH and with time all ESH council members served on the BLOOD PRESSURE editorial board. In addition, several ESH presidents (L. Hansson, S. Kjeldsen, K. Narkiewicz) contributed to the journal as editors in chief or editors. In 2002, the BLOOD PRESSURE 10th anniversary Research Prize was attributed to Prof. Andrzej Januszewicz, current secretary of the ESH council. Thereby, the journal became more European and nowadays international with the support of more than 150 hypertension experts from all over the world. This fruitful collaboration has resulted in the publication of several ESH Newsletters and ESH guidelines [4] or practice guidelines [5] in BLOOD PRESSURE. At last, one should not forget that the successful development of the journal is due in large part to the enthusiasm, the high level of competences and the perseverance of the successive editors and associate editors who succeeded in maintaining the reputation of the journal.