Instructions for Authors

General instructions

• Publication of articles is free of charge.
• The Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases accepts submissions in the form of original articles, case reports, review articles, adverse drug reports, brief communications, clinical pathologic conferences, latest advances, new techniques, book reviews, letters to the editor and editorials.
• The submissions should pertain to the fields of cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and physiologic topics related to these specialties.
• Classical work done in other fields of medicine and surgery may be published.
• The Journal does not accept work that has already been published or has been sent or accepted elsewhere for publication.
• However, any work presented at a scientific meeting or published in a preliminary report, such as an abstract, will be acceptable only if not already published in full. The Journal may require a copy of the published material if there is any doubt.

Publication fees

The journal publishes articles free of cost.

Article types and limits

Abbreviations and symbols

Use only standard abbreviations; avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

Drug names

The text should contain the generic names of any drugs used. Trade names can be mentioned within brackets.

Preparing the manuscript

• The manuscript should be typed in double spacing in MS Word in 12 point Arial or Times New Roman fonts and should preferably be submitted as an electronic copy accompanied with illustrations or photographs as appropriate.
• Number pages consecutively beginning with the title page as page 1 and ending with the legend page.

Order of sections (each beginning on a new page)

1. Title page
2. Abstract and key words
3. Text
4. Acknowledgement
5. References
6. Tables
7. Illustrations and legends

Peer review

All papers sent to the Journal will be read by 2 members of the editorial board and after their approval it will be forwarded to two international referees for review. The statistician in the editorial board of the Journal shall evaluate the statistical analysis done in the manuscript.

Conflict of interest and ethical considerations

Conflict of interest

In case a manuscript is related to a commercial product, the author must also submit a statement:

• Affirming that he maintains no financial or other interest in the product or its distribution.
• Describing his relations (if any) with the manufacturer or distributor of the product.

If the editors find a potential conflict of interest in the information given, the statement may be made available to the reviewers or published after informing the author.

Ethical considerations

• Do not use the patient’s name, initials, hospital number or photographs unless written permission has been acquired from him. This documentation should be sent with the manuscript.
• The authors should also send an affirmation stating that the study was approved by the institutional review board and that informed consent was obtained from each participant.
• The principles set forth by the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed (www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html).
• If the experiment is on animals, the authors should also send a statement affirming that all animals were treated in accordance with the “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” published by the National Institutes of Health (www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html).

Title page

Title

• The title is limited to 125 characters; preferably, there should be no abbreviations used.
• All submissions must have a title, which should be concise and specific to the study.

Authors

• List all authors by their full names followed by their highest degrees and institutional affiliations.
• List the name and full addresses of all the institutions involved in the research work.

Author Submission Form

Correspondence author

• Provide full name and complete postal address with zip or postal code.
• Also provide telephone number, fax number and e-mail address for communication, proofs and reprints.
• The authors should clearly mention the manuscript’s category designation.

Abstract and key words

Original article

It should be structured, not exceeding 250 words, containing the following subsections:

• Background: identify the aim or purpose of the study.
• Material and Methods: mention the study design and describe the statistical methods applied.
• Results: describe the outcome of the study and its statistical significance.
• Conclusions: state the clinical significance of the results.

Review article / case report

It should be unstructured, not containing more than 150 words.

Key words

• Should be limited to 4 to 6 words or short phrases that will assist in the cross-indexing of the articles and may be published with the abstract.
• The key words used should only be from the medical subject headings (MeSH). In case any recently introduced term is not found in MeSH, the present term may be used instead.

Introduction to Conclusions

Introduction

• This should be concise, summarizing the objective and rationale for the study or observation.
• Only relevant references should be used.
• Data or conclusions from the work being reported should not be repeated.

Materials and methods: original article

• The authors should explicitly state the process of selection of observational or experimental subjects (humans or experimental animals, including controls).
• Authors should identify the age, sex, ethnicity and other important characteristics of the study population, justifying the inclusion or exclusion criteria used in any of these variables.
• The methods (means of data collection), apparatus (with the manufacturer’s name and address in parenthesis) and procedures used should be explained in sufficient detail to permit other workers to reproduce the results.
• Provide references for established methods (including statistical methods) and also include a brief description for any methods that have been published but are not well known.
• Any new or modified methods used should be described, evaluating their limitations and giving reasons for using them.
• Generic names, doses and routes of administration of any drug or chemical used should be clearly identified.
• Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol (study population, interventions or exposures, outcomes and the rationale for statistical analysis), assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment, or allocation to treatment group), and the method of masking (blinding).

Materials and methods: review article

• Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.
• Authors should state whether the ethical requirements are met.

Statistical analysis

• State the statistical tool and software used, e.g. SPSS, Epi Info, SAS, SETS etc.
• State the tests applied, e.g. Student t-test, chi-square test etc.

Results

• Results are to be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations.
• Data given in the tables or illustrations should not be unnecessarily repeated.
• Emphasize or summarize only important observations.
• Findings of the statistical analysis, e.g. p values, confidence intervals, odds ratio etc., should be clearly mentioned.

Further statistical guidelines

1. “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (updated 2001, available from URL http://www.icmje.org).
2. “Notes from the Editors” (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1996; 112: 209-20).
3. Gardner MJ, Machin D, Campbell MJ. “Use of Check Lists in Assessing the Statistical Content of Medical Studies” (BMJ 1986; 292: 810-12).
4. Begg C, Cho M, Eastwood S, et al. “Improving the Quality of Reporting of Randomized Controlled Trials” (JAMA. 1996; 276: 637-9).
5. Kirklin JW, Barratt-Boyes BG. “The Generation of Knowledge From Information, Data and Analysis”. In: Cardiac Surgery, New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1993. p. 249-82.
6. Piantadosi S, Kirklin J, Blackstone E. Statistical Terminology and Definitions. In: Pearson FG, Deslauriers J, Ginsberg RJ, Hiebert CA, McKneally MF, Urschel HC Jr, editors. Thoracic Surgery. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1995. p. 1649-52.

Discussion

• The authors should comment on the results, emphasizing the important aspects of the study, the implications of the findings and their limitations.
• The authors should use references to compare and contrast their results with the findings of recent relevant studies.
• Do not repeat material already presented in previous sections.

Conclusions

• The conclusions should be linked with the goals of the study. However, the authors should avoid giving unqualified statements or conclusions not supported by the data.
• Conclusions should be based on critical arguments.

Acknowledgement and references

Acknowledgement

• A brief acknowledgement may be given by listing contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, but nevertheless helped in the study.
• Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

References

• References should be numbered in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text, tables and legends, by Arabic numerals in parenthesis.
• If a reference is cited only in a table or figure, it should be numbered according to the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure.
• Journal abbreviations should be used as in Index Medicus. The following format should be followed:

Tables, figures and units

Tables

• Each table should be typed with double spacing on a separate page.
• Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.
• Give each column a short or abbreviated heading and place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
• Internal horizontal or vertical lines should not be used.
• Data given in the tables is not to be repeated in the text, as tables should be self-explanatory.
• If the data is used from another published or unpublished source, obtain their written permission and acknowledge them fully.
• The use of too many tables in relation to the length of the text should be avoided.
• Abbreviations used in the table should be explained in the footnotes.

Illustrations and photographs (figures)

• Illustrations should be sent only if necessary.
• The Journal prefers to receive illustrations and photographs as electronic copies (JPG at 300 DPI resolution); however, the Journal can demand the original illustrations and photographs if deemed necessary. In that case they should be submitted as un-mounted, glossy prints from 5x7 inches (127x173 mm) to 8x10 inches (203x254 mm) in size, labelled on the back with the figure number and author’s name at the top edge.
• X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and transparencies are only accepted in formatted and scanned form.
• All figures should be professionally drawn or photographed in sharp focus. Free hand or type-written lettering is unacceptable.
• Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows or letters should be in contrast with the background.
• Black and white or coloured figures are both acceptable.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If a figure has been previously published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder.
• Graphs, scattergrams or histograms should be accompanied with the numerical data on which they are based.

Legends for illustrations

• These must be typed on a separate page using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustration number.
• In case of photomicrographs the legends should indicate the method of staining, internal scale and magnification.
• The legends should also identify and explain any symbols, arrows, numbers or letters used to identify parts of the illustrations.

Units of measurement

• The authors should use System International (SI) units of measurement.
• Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury.