The American College of Cardiology plans to start publishing a new bimonthly journal, JACC: Heart Failure, in February. Dr. Christopher O'Connor, a professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C., and director of the Duke Heart Center, will be editor-in-chief.

"With the increasing rate of patients suffering from heart failure, the science presented in this new journal will give cardiologists access to valuable new research," ACC President Dr. William Zoghbi said in a news release.

About 5.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and it is the primary cause of 55,000 deaths and a contributing cause in 280,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Washington-based ACC has 40,000 members, including physicians, surgeons, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists and practice managers. The group publishes three other journals: the Journal of Cardiology, first published in 1983, and JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging and JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, both started in 2008.

In a recent blog post, Zoghbi announced that Dr. Anthony DeMaria is leaving his post as editor-in-chief of the JACC.