Heart, matter, motion...

The heart is the only organ in our body unrelentlessly in motion, constantly dynamic, embodying a phenomenon in itself. The heart, however, does not work alone. It works in synchrony with other bodily organs, to ensure health and fitness, enabling its carrier not only to physiologically adapt to its environment but also to connect to the outside world on an emotional level.

The intent of this journal is to make the heart more familiar to anyone who owns one, not only to shed its “miraculous and mysterious” connotation but to be better known and understood. The heart is the body's master and the feeder of the mind and therefore, the journal is not just dedicated to disease but also to health.

What each of our forefathers in science and humanities thought – Hippocrates, Luke, Galen… Leonardo, Harvey, Descartes, asked, discovered about the nature and destiny of man, how man is constituted, provides the angle of vision.

Our approach is geared upon our fascination of the human heart – moving and exhilarating – experimenting along the road to our present understanding of the heart and mind, driving towards a continued un-wrenching of the secrets of the heart in the future.

We pursue not simply the heart, but life in all its physiological and pathological aspects. Growth – from inception to old age, the systems and environment within us that uphold our survival – muscle, heart, blood, lung, digestion, metabolism, hormonal, immune, endocrine and nervous systems. It is the interplay of these systems, effected and affected by the continuous drive of the cardiovascular system that is vital for life.

The Heart Matrix draws us into that pursuit, through the oceans of questions conceived and tackled by so many different men excellent in intellect, gifted with intuition, dogged as saints, ardent to probe “the awesome intimacy of heart and mind”.

Each of the remarkable human beings whose creativity surges through these ages joins in the orchestration of the great theme.

The Heart Matrix makes the body more familiar to all of us who own one: how it works and what may go wrong.

I have been in the field of cardiothoracic surgery for a little more than two decades and the same length of time to get to be there. My journey has helped me realized that the small quantity of understanding possessed about the heart will never quench the desire to know more, always in awe of the rapid change in knowledge. What has been learned yesterday may easily be overturned today, an irony science and research is entrenched in.

The earnest student might for these reasons earnestly say that a journal like this should never have been conceived. Science is too large, too specialized, too often maltreated by the unspecialized. A commendable view.

The domain of cardiovascular medicine and surgery intertwines and intersects with various scientific and medical disciplines. Our commitment is to interconnect these spheres in a continuous flow by communicating research and clinical practice through publishing articles and key reports related to cardiovascular medicine and surgery and allied medical and health professionals and present this information in an intelligible, clinically relevant constellation that will not only disclose health care delivery and patient outcomes, but all facets which can keep health care professionals at the premier edge of medical knowledge. We aim to enrich a cognizable understanding in their areas of interest and provides a blend of engaging and ingenious avenues to learn from, a concept inspired by a matrix.

As stated in our welcome page, The Heart Matrix is a channel aimed at interconnecting all fields of cardiovascular medicine and surgery. We are a new platform for comprehensive scientific communication, accentuating both disease and health and beginning with the heart- an organ relentlessly at work, providing nourishment to every cell in the human body, an organ vital for life. The intent of The Heart Matrix is to bring this organ closer to those interested, entertaining the notion that the heart nourishes the mind. From the pump to the pipelines, over the uncountable number of destinations back to the pump, the heart is not independent - it is interdependent. Heart, matter, motion… hence the journal's goal.

The Heart Matrix is a new journal in the field of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. But why yet another journal when numerous other successful platforms exist in this field?

The incentive for this was manifold:

Firstly, we now have a new platform for publishing the proceedings of the Roland Hetzer International Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Society (RHICS) and its forum presentations. These proceedings have been full of substantial content and must be recorded and published.

Secondly, the scope of our new journal extends well beyond the spectrum of cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery, additionally encompassing the conservative medical and technical aspects of the cardiovascular system. These include its intensive care and anesthesia, the allied health, the basic sciences and its historical, political, ethical and philosophical aspects.

Therefore, our journal is aimed at advancing our understanding and mirroring the range of RHICS, particularly addressing authors and readers from third-world countries in order to provide a platform for scientific voices regardless of their origin.

Finally, we would like to encourage not only full scientific articles but also brief communication presenting final ideas, study protocols and innovative techniques even if they are not fully matured. Likewise, this journal is a platform to present important needs and demands within medico-political issues in the different regions of this world.

We sincerely hope to create an interesting and informative global stage for insights and discussion with mutual understanding and respect.