A total of 97,949 articles were identified on the basis of our search strategy for QoL in AF patients. After going through the first 1997 articles with the highest number of citations, we were able to identify the top 50 articles. Table 1 shows the details of all 50 selected articles.

The publication timeline of the 50 most highly cited articles on QoL in AF patients showed a fluctuating trend (Fig. 1). The most recent article included in our analysis was published in 2021, whereas the earliest article was published in 1995. The majority of the articles were published after 2002 (43 out of 50), and half (25) of the articles were published after 2007. The years with the most publications were 2004 and 2005, with 5 publications each. The article with the highest number of citations among the 50 selected articles was published in 2004 (1525 citations), and the article with the lowest number of citations was published in 1997 (171 citations). A Spearman correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between publication year and citation count. Results indicated a weak negative correlation (rs = -0.116, p < 0.05), suggesting that older publications generally exhibit slightly higher citation counts than more recent publications.

The distribution of publications by year is illustrated, with the red area indicating the period during which the majority of articles were published. The green area highlights the years with the highest number of publications

The 50 most cited articles on QoL in AF patients accumulated a total of 19,026 citations up to the date of our analysis, with a mean number of citations of 380.5 per article. The highest number of citations of a single article was 1525, whereas the lowest number of citations was 171. The median number of citations was 301.3, with a standard deviation of 144.7. The peak of total mean citations per article was noted in 2000, with 645.5 citations. The two most recent articles from 2021 ranked 15th and 30th, with total citations of 437 and 264, respectively. On the other hand, the earliest published article from 1995 ranked 27th with a total of 280 citations. The highest citation density of an article was 109.3; the lowest citation density was 6.1.

The mean number of citations per year was 25.4. In 2021, the total mean citations per year reached a peak of 87.6. Figure 2 elaborates the average number of citations acquired by the 50 most cited articles per year. Additionally, the co-citation network map (Fig. 3) identified four unique clusters, each signifying important topics within the research domain. The red cluster comprised foundational works, the green cluster emphasized methodological breakthroughs, the yellow cluster covered emergent research, and the blue cluster focused on specialty themes.

The distribution of citations for the 50 most cited articles

Co-citation network analysis of the top 50 articles. The minimum number of citations per article is five

A Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between journal impact factor and citation counts. The results indicated a moderate positive correlation (rs = 0.43, p < 0.05), suggesting that journals with higher impact factors are associated with increased citation counts.

Among the 50 most cited articles, the authors who had the leading contribution in the field of QoL in AF were “Natale Andrea” and “Verma Atul”, with contributions of 7 articles each, with 3826 and 2939 citations, respectively. The third on the list was “Atwood JE”, with 5 contributions and a total of 2328 citations. The impact of the top 10 authors among a total of 877 authors is shown in Fig. 4. The average number of co-authors per article was 20.7. Furthermore, Fig. 5 illustrates their collaborative networks and interactions within the field, offering a detailed overview of their scholarly connections and collaborative efforts. The analyses highlight the significant roles of individual authors and their collaborative networks in promoting knowledge and innovation within the field.

Top ten authors with the highest number of citations and publications

Co-authorship network map among the top 50 articles. Minimum number of occurrences of the author: 2 articles

The journals with the highest impact and leading contribution in this field numbered 15 in total. The ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’ was the leading journal, with 14 articles, and ‘Circulation’ was second on the list, with 9 articles. Other notable journals include the Journal of the American Medical Association, European Heart Journal, and New England Journal of Medicine. Figure 6 illustrates the top 10 journals, highlighting their dominance in the field of QoL in AF. The journal with the highest impact factor of 98.4 was “Lancet,” which published only one article in this field, followed by “New England Journal of Medicine”, with an impact factor of 96.2, which published four articles, according to the 2023 JCR year.

Top 10 journals with the most publications

The pertinent institutions contributing to research on QoL in AF patients were also identified, highlighting institutions that have made substantial contributions to this specialized field. The ‘West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center’ and ‘Stanford University’ ranked first and second with 14 and 8 articles, respectively. Other notable institutions include Duke University, the University of Milan, and the University of Münster. On the other hand, the United States of America had the highest number of publications, totaling 20 articles, followed by Canada and Germany, with 6 articles each, and Italy with 5 articles. The details of the top 10 countries are given in Fig. 7, which shows both multiple country publications and single country publications.

Top 10 countries with the most publications

The most prevalent study type among the top 50 most cited articles was randomized control trials, followed by cohort studies and case series. Furthermore, the most common keyword used in these 50 highly cited articles was ‘QoL’ followed by AF, catheter ablation, management, mortality, impact, sinus rhythm, and so on. Figure 8 displays a word cloud of the keywords, while Fig. 9 presents a network map of the most prevalent keywords.

Most commonly used keywords among the top 50 highly cited articles

Network map of the most common keywords of the top 50 articles. Minimum number of keywords: 3 keywords

The international collaboration on studies regarding QoL in patients with AF revealed a diverse and interconnected landscape. The broad collaborations between United States of America – Canada, United States of America – Germany, United States of America – Italy, and Germany – Italy highlighted the international cooperation between countries in the specific field. Figure 10 visually depicts the global spread and connections of these collaborations, highlighting the influence of international partnerships on the field’s academic dialog.

Collaboration map of countries with the 50 most-cited articles