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Thromb Haemost 2026; 126(01): 001-004
DOI: 10.1055/a-2765-9724
Editorial

Welcoming 2026: A Year of Innovation, Integrity, and Global Connection

Authors

  • Gregory Y. H. Lip 

    1   Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science at University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom
    2   Department of Clinical Medicine, Danish Center for Health Services Research, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
    3   Lipidology and Internal Medicine with Intensive Coronary Care Unit, Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland

  • Anne Rigby

    4   Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

  • Christian Weber

    4   Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
    5   German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), partner site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
    6   Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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As we enter 2026, we reflect on the progress made in 2025, acknowledge the collective achievements of our authors, reviewers, section editors, and partners, and share the new developments that will shape the coming year.

Impact, Innovation, and Readership

Impact Factor: Sustaining Excellence in a Shifting Landscape

The 2024 Impact Factor for Thrombosis & Haemostasis stood at 4.3, a slight decline from 5.0. This decrease reflects widespread trends across the field, with most journals experiencing similar downward shifts. Notably, our sister journal Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis , led by our colleague Emmanuel J. Favaloro, rose from 3.6 to 4.1, an achievement we warmly congratulate!

Despite the decline, citation patterns remain strong and diverse, with highly cited work, particularly in atrial fibrillation (AF) research, continuing to reaffirm the journal's influence.

We are equally delighted that our sibling journal, TH Open , received its first Impact Factor of 1.8 last year, an important milestone for Editor-in-Chief Rory Koenen and the entire TH Open team!


A Modern Look

In 2025, we began rolling out a refreshed article layout designed by Thieme to meet the needs of today's digital-first readership. The redesign focuses on speed, clarity, and visibility, streamlining formatting to accelerate publication and improve online engagement, while moving away from legacy print conventions. We look forward to offering authors a more efficient publication experience and readers a more intuitive and accessible format; we hope you enjoy your new reading experience!



Ensuring Excellence and Research Integrity

We remain immensely grateful for the leadership and vision of our Editorial Board members, whose ongoing efforts ensure the strength and direction of the journal. Last year, we bid farewell to Dr James Douketis, who concluded his service on the Editorial Board. We heartedly thank him for his long-standing contributions, expert insights, and commitment to the journal. In 2025, our reviewers continued to deliver thoughtful, timely, high-quality evaluations. We extend special acknowledgment to our top Reviewers for 2025: Kengo Ayabe, Lorenzo Loffredo, Costanza Bordonaro, Eva Soler-Espejo, Alexander Cohen, and Benilde Cosmi.

As concerns about research misconduct and paper mills increase across scientific publishing, we highlight here our research integrity initiatives. In collaboration with Thieme's Publishing Ethics and Research Integrity Team, which is a signatory of United2Act and an active member of the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM) integrity hub, we work alongside industry partners to combat this issue on a global scale. We reaffirm our commitment to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) principles and encourage authors, reviewers, and readers to partner with us in safeguarding the quality and trustworthiness of published science.


Society Partnerships, Commissioned Articles, and EU Consortia: Collaborative Milestones

New Society Partnerships

In 2025, we concluded our long-standing affiliation with the Spanish Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SETH) as they move forward with their own journal. We remain grateful for our shared history and wish them success in this new chapter.

We are equally pleased to welcome two important new partnerships: with the European and Mediterranean League against Thrombotic Disease (EMLTD) and with the French Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SFHT). We are excited to be able to provide a platform for the publication of the abstracts from the 29th International Congress on Thrombosis in Porto (2025) organized by the Mediterranean League. This high-quality, widely attended meeting provides an excellent platform for disseminating state-of-the-art science in our field. Our new collaboration with the French Society is already yielding strong contributions. A position paper on VTE risk in pregnancy with inherited antithrombin deficiency has attracted notable attention4 and we expect the newly published consensus paper on activated-charcoal DOAC-removal methods in relation to thrombophilia testing also to generate interest.[5] We also value our ongoing, albeit informal, relationship with the Italian FCSA, whose high-quality work continues to appear regularly in the journal.[1] [2] [3]

Finally, we are grateful for our continued collaboration with Chinese experts following the publication of the 2024 Chinese Expert Consensus Guidelines on Atrial Fibrillation in the Elderly,[6] one of our most widely accessed guideline summaries.


Commissioned Articles and New Formats

In 2025, we introduced a new “Consortium Review” article format. Highlights include manuscripts initiated by the European Consortia projects TARGET and ARISTOTELES, both of which propose to exploit artificial intelligence techniques for improving personalized atrial fibrillation management,[7] [8] as well as PRESTIGE-AF,[9] which focuses on intracranial hemorrhage and anticoagulation.

We were also delighted to publish a series of “Clinical Focus” articles spanning a broad spectrum of contemporary cardiovascular and thrombosis research. Clinical practice variation and health-system perspectives were highlighted through analyses of international guideline heterogeneity in peripheral artery disease therapy,[10] regional differences in AF care pathways,[11] and the socioeconomic burden of pulmonary embolism.[12] Mechanisms and pathophysiology were explored in contributions addressing thrombin burst dynamics and hemostatic dysfunction,[13] as well as plaque-related thromboembolic risk and LDL-lowering strategies after stroke.[14] Advances in patient-tailored antithrombotic management were reflected in reviews on hemophilia-specific antithrombotic considerations,[15] cancer-associated VTE outcomes,[16] and the emerging therapeutic potential of factor XI inhibitors.[17]

We continued to commission state-of-the-art reviews to advance our understanding of mechanistic insights such as gut microbiota–platelet axis in advanced liver disease,[18] the physical basis of platelet biological functions,[19] and immunothrombosis and thromboinflammation,[20] as well as of clinical and translational perspectives like evaluations of colchicine for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention,[21] Lp(a) and its association with venous thromboembolism,[22] contemporary strategies for platelet disorders and their treatment,[23] and emerging challenges in cardiovascular care such as bleeding and thrombosis in mechanical circulatory support.[24]

We are particularly excited to introduce yet another “TH Scientific Statement” article format, with the first article recently published,[25] providing an important scientific foundation for the use of digital twins in thrombosis research. We look forward to publishing further articles in this format, which we hope will become key references for clinical and translational studies.



Connecting, Communicating, Collaborating

Social Media and Visibility

In alignment with Thieme's directive, Thrombosis & Haemostasis completed its transition away from X (formerly Twitter) by the end of 2025. We believe scientific communication should be defined by accuracy, transparency, and respectful discourse, principles we continue to uphold on LinkedIn and Bluesky, thanks to the critical contributions of our Social Media Editors.


New Podcast: Clot, Clot, Who's There?

A highlight of 2025 was the launch of our podcast, Clot, Clot, Who's There? , produced in partnership with the Vasculearn Network. With several episodes already published and available across major platforms (Spotify), Apple Podcasts: we hope many of you have enjoyed (or will do) these expert conversations bridging clinical practice, research, and global perspectives. Episodes explored topics including antithrombotic stewardship, immunothrombosis, acute limb ischemia, anticoagulation communication, evolving AF guidelines, VTE risk stratification, sex-specific stroke risk in AF, and the global burden of AF. Our hosts and guests from Europe, North America, and beyond have brought thoughtful dialogue and practical insight to the forefront. We look forward to continuing this initiative in 2026!


Engagement and Meetings: Connecting with Our Community

We were delighted to meet many of you in person at international conferences throughout 2025.

Our “Meet the Editor” session at the ISTH 2025 Congress, Washington, featuring Journal Development Editor Elinor Switzer, Executive Publishing Director Shelley Allen, and Senior Marketing Manager Björn Teuscher, generated valuable dialogue with the community.

We also met some of you at our Editorial Board Meeting hosted within the ESC Heart & Stroke and EuroThrombosis 2025, where Editors-in-Chief Gregory and Christian Weber, together with Section Editor Diana Gorog, also hosted a “Meet the Editor” workshop supported by Shelley Allen.



Looking Ahead

We extend our warmest thanks to our partners from Vasculearn, especially Aviva Schwartz, Director of Education and Co-Chair of the Vasculearn Medical Advisory Board; to Michael Binanzer and Regina Wenzel from the Publishing Ethics & Research Integrity team; to Laura Ambrosius for her support to the TH Editorial Office, to Elinor Switzer for her continued expertise and guidance, and Shelley Allen for her leadership as we improve the journal's visibility, design, and global reach.

As we look forward to 2026, we remain deeply grateful for your continued support, trust, and engagement. Together with our authors, reviewers, section editors, and partners worldwide, we will continue to uphold the highest standards of scientific rigor, foster global collaboration, and advance innovative research in thrombosis and hemostasis. We wish all our readers a productive and inspiring year ahead!



Conflict of Interest

None declared.


Address for correspondence

Anne Rigby, PhD
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), LMU Munich
Munich
Germany   

Christian Weber, MD
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), LMU Munich
Munich
Germany   

Gregory Y. H. Lip, MD
Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool
William Henry Duncan Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool L7 8TX
United Kingdom   

Publication History

Received: 05 December 2025

Accepted: 05 December 2025

Article published online:
02 January 2026

© 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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