Abstract 4358099: Cardiology Conferences Have a Higher Research Yield Than Other Subspecialties: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study of AHA and ACC Annual Meetings

Introduction: Leading cardiology conferences like the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Meetings are vital platforms for presenting novel research, fostering collaboration, and providing early insights into studies that may progress to full publication. Abstract-to-publication conversion serves as a key metric of scientific impact. This study evaluates the publication rate of abstracts presented at the AHA and ACC annual meetings in 2015 and 2018, examines factors associated with successful publication, and compares these rates with those of other internal medicine specialties. Methods: Abstracts were retrieved from online supplements of the Circulation journal and the Journal of the ACC . Data extracted included year, presentation type, author count, study type, and institutional affiliations. A 7–10-year follow-up was performed to identify corresponding full-length publications using PubMed and Google Scholar, requiring a match with three keywords and one author’s name. Chi-square and t-tests were used for statistical analysis. A 25% publication rate was hypothesized. Results: Of 11,802 abstracts (AHA: 6,965; ACC: 4,837), 54.7% were published, more than double the hypothesized rate. AHA had a slightly higher rate (55.3%) than ACC (53.8%; p = 0.10). Oral presentations were four times more likely to be published than posters. Multi-institutional studies and abstracts with >6 authors had significantly higher publication rates (p < 0.001). The mean impact factor (IF) of destination journals was 7.47, with JAHA being the most common destination journal (4.4%). Compared to internal medicine and other subspecialty conferences, Cardiology, specifically AHA, demonstrated higher publication rates and journal IFs. Conclusion: Cardiology meetings have a robust research yield, with publication rates exceeding historical norms and high-impact journal placements. The AHA, in particular, consistently facilitates the dissemination of high-quality, peer-reviewed research, underscoring its continued importance in the cardiovascular academic landscape.