The international rank order of clinical cardiology.

A cardiological ranking list was prepared based on papers published in 1981-1992. The nations studied comprised the G-7 countries, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The number of citations received by these publications was checked. In general the output and citation frequency in the last decade increased, although often temporarily. These data were also related to population size and expenditure on research and development. They show that the United States leads research in clinical cardiology. In most G-7 nations, however, the quality and quantity of cardiological publications lag behind those of the smaller West-European countries. This may be partly due to differences in funding and/or publication in a language other than English.