A Farewell to Arms

At a certain moment in life everyone has to make important decisions with direct implications for their future. This time has now arrived and I would like to announce that, as of 1 January 2017, I will be stepping down as Editorin-Chief of the Netherlands Heart Journal (NHJ). Formally, the appointment of an Editor-in-Chief is a matter for both the Publisher and the Netherlands Society of Cardiology (NVVC). Together they arrive at the decision on who is the most appropriate candidate for this position at this moment. At the 2016 autumn meeting of the NVVC it was officially announced that from 1 January 2017 Professor Jan J. Piek (AMC, Amsterdam) will take over the position of Editor-in-Chief of NHJ, for a well-defined period of time. He will be assisted by local deputy editors. Further details will be given in the NHJ Editor’s Comment of January 2017. It was 15 years ago, on 1 April 2001, that the Netherlands Heart Journal was founded. It was the offspring of the journal entitled ‘Nederlands Tijdschift voor Cardiologie’ (founded in 1987) and its successor ‘Cardiologie’ (founded in 1994), both journals predominantly publishing in the Dutch language. However, at the turn of this century it was thought wise and timely, by both the Chief Editors and the Publisher, to completely change to the English language