1. General Information

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology (JCMC) is committed to publishing high-quality research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge and practice in cardiovascular medicine. We accept a broad range of manuscripts that include original research articles, comprehensive reviews, clinical case reports, and short communications on novel advancements. Our journal's mission is to create an open forum where experts, researchers, and clinicians can exchange scientific ideas, disseminate discoveries, and contribute to the ongoing development of cardiovascular medicine and related fields.

We take the responsibility of protecting authors' and participants' privacy seriously. Therefore, all submissions must comply with international privacy standards, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the CAN-SPAM Act, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In addition to this, our submission process is guided by principles set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), ensuring the integrity and ethical management of published material.

Authors are expected to provide assurances regarding patient confidentiality and the protection of intellectual property in their research. This includes removing identifiable information from research data when reporting on human subjects, securing consent for publication when necessary, and ensuring compliance with local and international ethical standards. Authors must also adhere to best practices regarding research data protection and ensure that any third-party data used in their manuscript is obtained with the necessary permissions.

For each manuscript type, we maintain specific guidelines to ensure consistency and transparency in reporting. We also emphasize the need for manuscripts to align with our journal's scope, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular conditions, as well as related medical and scientific research that contributes to the understanding of these areas.

Upon submission, manuscripts are reviewed for their scientific merit, originality, and relevance to cardiovascular medicine. The peer-review process plays a crucial role in our publication strategy, helping us maintain a high standard of scientific rigor and ethical compliance.

We encourage all authors to carefully read the detailed submission guidelines outlined below, ensuring that all manuscript components meet our requirements to avoid delays in the review process. The guidelines have been carefully designed to align with the requirements of major indexing databases such as DOAJ, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, and JCR, ensuring the journal’s compliance with best practices in scientific publishing.

2. Types of Manuscripts Accepted

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology (JCMC) welcomes a variety of manuscript types that reflect the latest advancements in cardiovascular research, clinical practice, and innovation. By offering multiple submission categories, we aim to create an inclusive platform for authors to share their contributions across diverse topics and methodologies in cardiovascular medicine. Each manuscript type has distinct formatting and content requirements that authors should follow closely:

• Original Research Articles: Original research articles represent the core of the scientific contributions accepted by JCMC. These articles should present new findings that make significant contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine. Manuscripts should include a comprehensive introduction, detailed materials and methods, results, and a discussion section that relates findings to current knowledge in the field. The word count for original research articles should not exceed 8,000 words, excluding references and supplementary material. Original research articles should be supported by sufficient data and statistical analyses to substantiate the authors’ claims and should follow ethical guidelines concerning patient consent, data confidentiality, and approval by ethics committees.
• Review Articles: Review articles provide an in-depth examination of current research on a specific topic relevant to cardiovascular medicine. Reviews should critically analyze the available literature, identify gaps in knowledge, and suggest future research directions. They are often authored by experts in the field who can provide comprehensive overviews of the topic. Review articles should not exceed 10,000 words. The abstract should clearly summarize the scope and purpose of the review. These articles do not necessarily need original data but should provide an expert synthesis of existing research and include a balanced analysis of the literature.
• Case Reports: Case reports offer detailed descriptions of rare or particularly insightful clinical cases that can provide valuable learning opportunities for practitioners in cardiovascular medicine. These manuscripts should present novel clinical experiences, unexpected outcomes, or previously unreported complications that can contribute to the broader understanding of patient management in specific cases. Case reports should not exceed 2,500 words and should include a clear clinical narrative, description of the case management, discussion of outcomes, and implications for practice.
• Short Communications: Short communications are brief reports on new and innovative findings in cardiovascular medicine. They are concise manuscripts, typically no more than 3,000 words, that focus on a specific development or breakthrough in the field. These submissions should include an abstract, a brief introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Short communications are particularly suitable for reporting preliminary data or early-stage findings that may pave the way for more extensive research.

Authors are encouraged to carefully select the most appropriate manuscript type based on the nature of their work and ensure that their submission adheres to the specific formatting and content requirements.

3. Manuscript Preparation

To ensure the smooth processing and review of submissions, authors must prepare their manuscripts according to the following format guidelines. Adhering to these standards will help expedite the review process and improve the likelihood of acceptance. The structure and organization of the manuscript should allow for a clear and logical flow of information.

Title Page:

The title page should contain all necessary information about the manuscript and its contributors. This includes:

• Title: The title should be clear, concise, and informative, reflecting the main topic of the manuscript. Avoid abbreviations or acronyms that may not be widely understood.
• Author Information: Full names, affiliations, and email addresses of all authors must be provided. The corresponding author should be clearly indicated, and their full contact details, including phone number and mailing address, must be included. Authors should also provide their ORCID iDs, which help distinguish their work from that of other researchers with similar names.
• Conflict of Interest Declaration: Authors must declare any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. This includes relationships with pharmaceutical companies, funding sources, or advisory board memberships.

Abstract:

Each manuscript should include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words. The abstract should briefly describe the purpose of the study, the methods used, the key results, and the major conclusions. For original research articles, it should be divided into the following sections: Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Review articles and case reports may use an unstructured abstract. The abstract should be followed by 4-6 keywords that are relevant to the topic of the manuscript and aid in indexing.

Body Text:

The body text of the manuscript should be divided into clearly labeled sections. For original research articles, the following structure is recommended:

• Introduction: Provide a background to the study, state the research question or hypothesis, and explain the significance of the study in the context of existing literature.
• Methods: Describe the study design, population, interventions (if applicable), outcomes, and statistical methods in sufficient detail to allow replication. If the study involved human participants, ethical approval and informed consent should be clearly stated.
• Results: Present the data in a logical sequence without interpretation. Use tables, graphs, and figures to summarize findings when appropriate.
• Discussion: Interpret the results in the context of previous research, discuss the implications for clinical practice or further research, and note any limitations of the study.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key findings and their relevance.

References:

Authors are required to format all references according to the Vancouver citation style, which uses numerical in-text citations in the order of appearance. Include the DOI for references where available. The reference list should only include works that are directly cited in the manuscript, and authors are encouraged to keep the list up to date with the latest research. Each entry should contain the full citation, including author names, article titles, journal names, volume, issue, and page numbers.

Figures and Tables:

Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively and included as separate files upon submission. Each figure or table should be accompanied by a caption that explains its contents without requiring reference to the main text. Images should be submitted in high resolution (minimum 300 dpi) to ensure clarity in the printed version of the journal.

4. Submission Process

The submission process is streamlined through the JCMC’s online submission system, hosted on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. This user-friendly system allows authors to submit their manuscripts electronically, track their progress through the review process, and communicate with editors regarding revisions and queries.

To begin the submission process, authors must first register for an account on the OJS platform or log in if they already have an existing account. After logging in, authors should follow these steps:

1. Select the appropriate manuscript type from the available categories (e.g., Original Research Article, Review Article, Case Report, Short Communication).
2. Upload the manuscript file, ensuring that it is formatted according to the journal’s submission guidelines. Ensure that all supplementary files, such as figures, tables, and ethical approval documentation, are also uploaded.
3. Complete the manuscript metadata section. This includes providing the full title, abstract, keywords, and a brief description of the manuscript’s content. Authors should also ensure that all author names and affiliations are entered correctly.
4. Agree to the journal’s terms and conditions, including copyright transfer, ethical compliance, and disclosure of conflicts of interest. The journal requires authors to sign a copyright transfer agreement as part of the submission process.

Once a manuscript is submitted, it will undergo an initial review by the editorial team to ensure it meets the journal’s submission criteria. Manuscripts that do not comply with the submission guidelines or are outside the scope of the journal will be returned to the authors without review. Manuscripts that pass the initial review will be assigned to external reviewers for peer review.

5. Peer-Review Process

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology (JCMC) adheres to a double-blind peer-review process to ensure that manuscripts receive a fair and unbiased evaluation. In a double-blind review, neither the reviewers nor the authors know each other’s identities, which helps eliminate bias and promotes a balanced critique of the work.

Once a manuscript is submitted and passes the initial editorial screening, it is assigned to two or more expert reviewers who are selected based on their expertise in the subject area. These reviewers are tasked with evaluating the manuscript’s scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal’s scope. The reviewers provide detailed feedback, which may include suggestions for improving the manuscript, recommendations for additional experiments or analyses, or clarification of certain points.

The peer-review process typically takes between 4-8 weeks, depending on the availability of reviewers and the complexity of the manuscript. Authors will receive a decision letter once the review process is complete, which will include the reviewers’ comments and recommendations. Manuscripts may be accepted without revisions, accepted with minor or major revisions, or rejected. In the case of revisions, authors are expected to address each reviewer’s comments in a revised version of the manuscript.

All manuscripts are treated with the highest level of confidentiality, and reviewers are expected to disclose any potential conflicts of interest before accepting the review assignment. The JCMC editorial board makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject a manuscript based on the reviewers’ reports and the authors’ response to the feedback.

6. Ethics and Consent

JCMC is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct in research and publication. As part of this commitment, we require all authors to adhere to internationally recognized ethical guidelines, such as the Declaration of Helsinki for clinical research involving human subjects and the ARRIVE Guidelines for animal studies. Authors must ensure that their work complies with all relevant ethical standards and provide clear documentation of ethical approval and informed consent when necessary.

For studies involving human participants, authors must obtain informed consent from all subjects or their legal representatives. This consent should cover participation in the study and, where applicable, the publication of anonymized data. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript confirming that consent was obtained and that the study was approved by an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB).

In addition to ethical concerns related to human and animal research, authors must also comply with ethical guidelines for data sharing, data privacy, and intellectual property protection. All data shared in the manuscript must be anonymized to protect the privacy of individuals, and authors should ensure that they have the necessary permissions to share any third-party data used in the study.

JCMC also has a strict policy on plagiarism. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are screened using plagiarism detection software to ensure originality. Authors found to have plagiarized content will face immediate rejection of their manuscript, and repeat offenders may be banned from future submissions.

7. Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and ethical research conduct. At JCMC, we take a firm stance against any form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. We define plagiarism as the use of another author’s ideas, data, or text without proper acknowledgment or citation. This includes both direct copying of text and the paraphrasing of another author’s work without attribution.

To safeguard the integrity of the research published in our journal, all submitted manuscripts are checked for plagiarism using industry-standard plagiarism detection tools such as iThenticate. If a manuscript is found to contain plagiarized material, it will be rejected immediately, and the corresponding author will be notified. In cases where plagiarism is detected after publication, the article may be retracted, and appropriate corrective action will be taken in line with COPE guidelines.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and providing appropriate citations for all sources of information, data, or ideas that are not their own. This includes material from previously published work, unpublished data, conference presentations, and any material obtained through personal communication. Authors should also avoid excessive self-citation or the reuse of their own previously published work without proper attribution (self-plagiarism).

In addition to preventing plagiarism, JCMC promotes transparency and ethical research practices by encouraging authors to share their data and methodology in a way that allows other researchers to replicate their findings. However, all data sharing must comply with relevant privacy laws and regulations to protect the confidentiality of participants.

8. Data Sharing and Privacy

Data sharing is an essential part of modern scientific research, promoting transparency and enabling the replication of findings by other researchers. At JCMC, we encourage authors to make their data available in publicly accessible repositories whenever possible. However, we recognize that data sharing must be balanced with the need to protect personal privacy and sensitive information.

All authors submitting manuscripts to JCMC must ensure that their research complies with relevant privacy laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) where applicable. These regulations protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants and require authors to anonymize any personal data shared in their manuscripts.

Authors are also responsible for ensuring that they have obtained all necessary permissions to share third-party data, whether from collaborators, data providers, or participants. In cases where data sharing is restricted due to confidentiality agreements, ethical concerns, or legal constraints, authors should clearly state these limitations in the manuscript and explain why the data cannot be made publicly available.

9. Copyright and Licensing

The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiology (JCMC) operates under a Gold Open Access model, meaning that all articles are freely available to readers worldwide without any subscription fees. To support this model, authors are required to sign a copyright transfer agreement upon acceptance of their manuscript. This agreement grants the journal the exclusive right to publish the article while allowing the authors to retain certain rights to their work, such as the ability to distribute copies for educational purposes or to include the article in future publications.

In addition to copyright transfer, JCMC requires all articles to be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. This open-access license allows others to share, remix, adapt, and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercial uses, provided that the original authors and source are properly credited. The CC BY license ensures that the work can be freely disseminated and used by other researchers, practitioners, and the public, furthering the reach and impact of the research.

10. Article Processing Charges (APC)

As part of our Gold Open Access policy, JCMC charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) to cover the costs associated with the peer-review process, manuscript production, and online hosting. The APC for all accepted articles is $1849 USD. This fee is payable upon acceptance of the manuscript and before publication.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the APC is paid in a timely manner to avoid delays in the publication process.