Despite increased female representation in medical training, women physicians continue to be under-represented in academic cardiology, particularly in senior roles of authorship and leadership. We analyzed the top 20 most-cited cardiology journals (31,540 total articles) between January 1st, 2018 and October 31st, 2021 for gender distribution of editorial staff and authorship. Our data demonstrated that only 27% of articles had women as first authors and 20% as senior authors. Women constituted 23% of editorial staff. There is a statistically significant negative correlation (R=0.67, p=0.0011) between the percentage of women as first authors and the percentage of men on editorial boards. Overall, female authorship increased from 26% first and 19% senior authors in 2018, to 29% first and 22% senior authors in 2021. Women authors are significantly under-represented in academic cardiology publications, and additional work is needed to identify and address barriers to publishing and academic advancement for women in cardiology.

Despite the contemporary techniques and devices available for invasive cardiology procedures, the current diagnostic, and interventional modalities have many shortcomings. As a contemporary cross-disciplinary technique, nanotechnology has demonstrated great potential in interventional cardiology practice. It has a pivotal role in detecting sensitive cardiac biomarkers, nanoparticle-enhanced gadolinium (Gd) contrast to enhance the detection of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and multimodal imaging like including optical coherence tomography (OCT)/infrared luminescence (IR) for coronary plaque characterization. Furthermore, in invasive cardiology, the potential benefit is in miniaturized cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), including leadless pacemakers and piezoelectric nanogenerators to self-power symbiotic cardiac devices. Nanoparticles are ideal for therapeutic drug delivery systems for atherosclerotic plaque regression, regeneration of fibrotic cardiomyocytes, and disruption of bacterial biofilm to enhance and prolong the effects of antimicrobial agents in infective endocarditis (IE). In summary, nanotechnology-assisted therapies can overtake conventional invasive cardiology and expand the horizon of microtechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD in the foreseeable future.

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Sofia
Journal Co-ordinator
Journal of Medical Research and Health Education