ACCEPTED DOCUMENT TYPES
Original Article: The journal IJCS accepts all types of original cardiovascular research, including research in humans and experimental research. Clinical trials should follow specific recommendations. Note: Systematic analyses and meta-analyses are considered original manuscripts, not reviews.
Review Article: The editors send out invitations for most reviews. However, high-level studies conducted by authors or groups with previous publications on the subject will be welcome. In this section, any manuscripts whose main author does not have a comprehensive academic or publication background verified by Lattes (CNPQ), PubMed or SciELO will not be accepted. Note: Systematic analyses and meta-analyses are considered original manuscripts, not reviews.
Viewpoint: It presents the authors’ stance or opinion on a specific scientific theme. This stance or opinion must be sufficiently corroborated by the literature or their personal experience. These aspects will be the basis of the opinion being issued.
Case Report: Any cases including original descriptions of clinical observations or representing the originality of a given diagnosis or treatment or illustrating situations that do not occur very often in the clinical practice, which deserve a deeper understanding and more attention from cardiologists.
Brief Communication: Original experiences whose relevance to the knowledge of a subject justifies the presentation of initial data of small series, or partial data of clinical trials.
Editorial: Subjects or manuscripts critically addressed by a subject-matter specialist. All IJCS editorials are published upon invitation. We will not accept editorials submitted spontaneously.
Short Editorial: Also published upon invitation, it includes comments on original articles published in IJCS with scientific content and opinion from subject-matter specialists.
Letter to the Editor: Correspondence of scientific content related to manuscripts published in IJCS and evaluated for publication two months before. The authors of the original manuscript will be invited to respond.
Preprints: IJCS accepts manuscripts published on preprint platforms. At the time of submission, authors must provide the name of the server and the link to the preprint publication. If the author of a manuscript under peer review at IJCS wishes to deposit it on a preprint server, they must inform the journal via email at: revistaijcs@cardiol.br. Please read the journal’s Editorial Policy carefully.
ORGANIZATION OF MANUSCRIPTS AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS
LANGUAGE
IJCS is an English publication. Articles must be submitted in English.
Articles indicated by the journal Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia for evaluation at the IJCS must preferably be in English.
COMPOSITION
Note: The texts must be edited in a word processor (example: Microsoft® Word, Google Docs®, Writer®).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Authors may submit supplementary material to accompany their article, which will be published online only when there is insufficient space to include it in the printed article. This material should be important for the understanding and interpretation of the article and should not repeat information from the printed article. The inclusion of supplementary material should be limited and justified, and it must be original and unpublished.
Supplementary material will undergo editorial and peer review alongside the main manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted for publication and the supplementary material is deemed appropriate for publication by the editors, it will be published online at the time of the article’s publication as additional material provided by the authors. This material will not be edited or formatted; therefore, authors are responsible for the accuracy and presentation of all such material. Each supplementary material should be identified at the time of submission and cited within the article’s text.
CENTRAL ILLUSTRATION
For original and review articles, the submission of a central figure is mandatory. Below are some guidelines to assist in creating the image:
Purpose of the Central Illustration:
o Summarize the main message of the scientific article.
o Encourage visualization and promote interdisciplinary research.
o Help readers quickly identify the relevance of the article to their interests.
o Capture the reader’s attention and spark curiosity.
o Not replace the article or abstract but introduce and briefly summarize the topic.
Ideal Characteristics:
o Self-explanatory: Should be easily understood by the reader.
o Concise and Direct: Use minimal words and powerful graphics.
Creation Process:
o Conceptualize: Define the main message and target audience.
o Sketch: Create an initial hand-drawn sketch.
o Design: Use graphic design software to assist in production.
Tips for Creating a Graphic Summary:
o Focus on Uniqueness and Clarity:
Clear beginning and end.
Visual indication of the biological context.
Distinction between figures or model diagrams from the article.
Emphasize new findings and avoid excessive details.
Do not include too many data points; the content should be graphic and visual.
o Keep It Simple:
Use simple labels and minimal text.
Highlight one process or point clearly.
Avoid distracting or cluttered elements.
o Sketch First:
Hand-draw sketches to organize ideas.
Prefer illustrations and visual icons.
Organize elements visually and avoid overcrowding.
o Design Software:
Use tools like PowerPoint if you don’t have access to professional software.
Tools like Canva and Mind the Graph can help in creating the figure.
o Characteristics of an Effective Summary:
Accurate: Should correctly reflect the content of the artic
Self-sufficient: Define abbreviations and acronyms.
Concise and to the Point: Informative and brief.
Non-Evaluative: Avoid personal comments.
Coherent and Easy to Read: Clear, legible, and accessible.
Example of a central figure published in the journal:
Access to the article: https://ijcscardiol.org/article/association-of-dietary-inflammatory-potential-in-metabolically-healthy-and-metabolically-unhealthy-obese-individuals/
SUMMARY TABLE OF THE STRUCTURING OF ARTICLES
SUBMISSION AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
SUBMISSION
To submit your article, access https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/ijcs-scielo and register as an author. If you already have a reviewer login, use the same access. Follow the steps below to submit your article.
When registering as an author, it is crucial to link your ORCiD number (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). ORCiD is a unique, free, and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes one academic/researcher from another and resolves the problem of ambiguity and similarity of author and individual names by replacing name variations with a single numeric code. To register your ORCiD ID, visit: https://orcid.org/register.
When uploading the files related to the article, the author must also submit the Mandatory Publication Form. In this form, the corresponding author or the first author must declare the following information, related to:
a. Confirmation of Copyrights;
b. Potential Conflict of Interest;
c. Ethics Committee (Does not apply to articles where the research does not involve humans, animals, or sensitive data);
d. Use of Artificial Intelligence;
e. Compliance with Open Science;
f. Contribution of the authors (Does not apply to Editorial articles, Letters to the Editor, Scientific Letters, and Mini Editorials).
MANDATORY PUBLICATION FORM
COPYRIGHTS: The corresponding author must declare that the article is original, that it does not infringe on any copyright or any other proprie-tary rights of third parties, and that it has not been submitted for publication to any other journal. Every manuscript published by the journal is the permanent property of the authors, with the journal holding the right of first publication and the right to display, store, copy, and reuse the content.
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Potential conflicts of interest are considered to be any relationship between an author, directly or indi-rectly, through the research institution, and companies that could potentially benefit from the results of the study. For this reason, all authors must declare any relationship they have had with the industry and other relevant entities – whether financial or otherwise – in the last two years, which might represent a conflict of interest with the submitted article. All relevant relationships with the in-dustry, academic affiliations, and funding sources for the work must be declared in the form, as well as all institutional affiliations of the au-thors (including corporate commitments). This includes general associations such as consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interests, or patent licensing agreements.
The following types of relationships are considered potentially conflicting and must be declared:
If, in the last two years, any author:
1. Received consulting fees, lecture fees, writing services, or any other type of paid services from the product manufacturer.
2. Received support from the product manufacturer (research funding, provision of equipment, drugs, labor) related to the project under analysis or another project involving the same product.
3. Received support from the product manufacturer for participation in congresses.
4. Held shares in the product manufacturer.
5. Had involvement from the product manufacturer in the collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the data.
6. Is employed by a company that could directly or indirectly benefit from the results of the study.
ETHICS COMMITTEE: For articles where the research involves humans and animals, the corresponding author must declare the name of the Ethics Committee, the approval number, and the date in the form. Additionally, the approval from the Ethics Committee should be uploaded along with the form whenever possible.
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The corresponding author must declare the use of generative AI in scientific writing at the time of submissi-on. See the “Use of Artificial Intelligence” section, as well as access the journal’s Ethics Policy.
COMPLIANCE WITH OPEN SCIENCE: The corresponding author must report on the manuscript’s compliance with Open Science communication practices. Authors are asked to report: (a) if the manuscript is a preprint, and if so, its location; and (b) if the data, program codes, and other materials underlying the manuscript text are properly cited and referenced.
CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS: The corresponding author must declare the contribution of all co-authors according to the types of participation below:
1. Conceptualization and design of the research.
2. Data acquisition.
3. Data analysis and interpretation.
4. Statistical analysis.
5. Funding acquisition.
6. Manuscript writing.
7. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
TYPES OF STUDY – CONFORMATION FOR APPROVAL
CLINICAL TRIAL/EXPERIMENTAL STUDY (CONSORT COMPLIANT)
Reports of randomized trials must conform to the revised CONSORT guidelines and should be submitted with their protocols and a completed CONSORT checklist. All reports of clinical trials must include a summary of previous research findings and explain how the submittedtrial affects this summaryof previous findings. Cluster randomized trials should be reported according to extended CONSORT guidelines. Randomized trials reporting harms must be described according to extended CONSORT guidelines. All reports of randomized trials should include a section entitled “Randomization and masking” within the methods section. For information regarding CONSORT guidelines, please visit http://www.consort-statement.org.
OBSERVATIONAL STUDY (STROBE COMPLIANT)*
Observational research comprises several study designs and many topic areas. The STROBE statement should be used when reporting such research. The STROBE recommendations apply to the three main analytical designs usedin observational research: cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The STROBE statement consists of a 22-item checklist. For information regarding STROBE guidelines, please visit http://www.strobe-statement.org.
*Please note that IJCS uses a customized version of the STROBE checklist, available only at http://www.editorialmanager.com/mdin the “Files & Resources” section of the home page.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS (PRISMA COMPLIANT)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must be reported according to PRISMA guidelines, an evidence-based minimum set of items createdto help authors improve the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The PRISMA Statement consists of a 27-item checklist and a four-phase flow diagram. For information regarding PRISMA guidelines, please visit http://www.prisma-statement.org.
META-ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY (MOOSE COMPLIANT)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology should be reported according to MOOSE guidelines. For more information regarding MOOSE guidelines, please visit http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/meta-analysis-of-observational-studies-in-epidemiology-a-proposal-for-reporting-meta-analysis-of-observational-studies-in-epidemiology-moose-group/.
DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY STUDY (STARD COMPLIANT)
Investigators reporting studies of diagnostic accuracy should adhere to the STARD statement, partof the STARD initiative to improve the accuracy and completeness of reporting of studies of diagnostic accuracy, to allow readers to assess the potential for bias in astudy (internal validity) and to evaluate a study’sgeneralizability (external validity). The STARD statement consists of a 25-item checklist and recommends the use of a flow diagram to describe the design of the study and the flow of patients. For information regarding STARD guidelines, please visit http://www.stard-statement.org.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDY (SQUIRE COMPLIANT)*
The SQUIRE statement helpsauthors write excellent, usable articles about quality improvement in healthcare so that findings may be easily discovered and widely disseminated.The SQUIRE statement consists of a 19-itemchecklist. The SQUIRE guidelines are not exclusive of other guidelines. For example, an improvement project or effectiveness study that used a randomized controlled trial design should consider using both the CONSORT and the SQUIRE guidelines.In these cases, both checklists should be uploaded as a single document.For more information regarding SQUIRE guidelines, please visit http://squire-statement.org/.
*Please note that IJCS uses a customized version of the SQUIRE checklist, available only at http://www.editorialmanager.com/mdin the “Files &Resources” section of the home page.
ECONOMIC EVALUATION STUDY (CHEERS COMPLIANT)
Developed by the ISPOR Quality Improvement in Cost-Effectiveness Research Task Force, the CHEERS statement supports the quality, consistency, and transparency of health economic and outcomes research reporting in the biomedical literature. The CHEERS statement includes a 24-item checklist. For more information regarding CHEERSguidelines, please visit http://www.ispor.org/taskforces/EconomicPubGuidelines.asp.
CLINICAL CASE REPORT (CARE COMPLIANT)
The CARE guidelines provide a framework to support the need for completeness, transparency and data analysis in case reports and data from the point of care. The main tools of CARE are the CARE Statement, CARE checklist, and a Case Report Writing Template. These products offer a rationale and a standardized format for authors to prepare more complete and transparent case reports. For more information regarding CARE guidelines, please visit http://www.care-statement.org/.
ETHICS: HUMAN STUDIES
Studies on patients or volunteers must be receive ethics committee approval and informed consent, which should be documented in the paper, including the approval number. Patients have a right to privacy. Authors should remove information from photographs and manuscripts that might identify a patient. Where this is impossible, submissions must be accompanied by a written release from the patient. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that patients’ privacy is protected. Authors should pay close attention to images that contain identifiable individual patient characteristics or data such as eyes, date of birth, case number, initials, birthmarks, etc. Informed consent should be obtained in writing from the patient if there is concern that a patient’s anonymity cannot be maintained in written text or with use of photographs or video.
Written consents must be provided to the editorial office on request. Even where consent has been given, identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. If such consent has not been obtained, personal details of patients included in any part of the paper and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.
ANIMAL RESEARCH AND STUDIES
In experiments involving animals, the standards established in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1996) and the Ethical Principles in Animal Experiments of the Brazilian Council of Animal Experimentation (COBEA) must be respected. Research must conform the following items: 1) animal care and use by qualified individuals, supervised by veterinarians, and all facilities and transportation must comply with current legal requirements and guidelines; 2) research involving animals should be done only when alternative methods to yield needed information are not possible; 3) anesthesia must be used in all surgical interventions, all unnecessary suffering should be avoided and research must be terminated if unnecessary pain or fear results; and 4) animal facilities must meet the international standards.
EXCLUSIVE SUBMISSION/PUBLICATION POLICY
Manuscripts are considered for review only under the conditions that they are not under consideration elsewhere and that the data presented have not been previously published (including symposia, proceedings, transactions, books, articles published by invitation, and preliminary publications of any kind, excepting abstracts that do not exceed 500 words). As mentioned earlier, the journal accepts articles published on preprint platforms, and the copyrights belong exclusively to the authors, with the first publication being the exclusive right of the journal. All published articles are licensed under the CC-BY license.
STATISTIC GUIDELINES
Proper use of statistical methods as well as their correct description is of paramount importance for manuscripts published in IJCS. Therefore, some general guidelines apply to the information to be provided regarding statistical analysis (for further details, we suggest reading the European Heart Journal’s statistical guidelines).
1) About the sample: Details of both the population of interest and the procedures used to define the study sample.
2) Under Methods, there must be a subtopic exclusively addressed to the description of the statistical analysis used in the study, containing:
• Presentation of continuous and/or categorical variables: continuous variables with normal distribution should be presented as mean and standard deviation and continuous variables with non-normal distribution should be presented as median and interquartile range. Categorical variables should be presented by absolute numbers and percentages, with the relevant confidence intervals.
• Description of statistical methods used. If more complex statistical methods are used, some reference literature should be provided for them;
• As a general rule, statistical tests should always be bilateral rather than unilateral;
• The significance level adopted; and
• Specifications of the software used in the statistical analyses, including its version.
3) As for the presentation of the results from statistical analyses:
• The main results should always be described with their relevant confidence intervals;
• Do not repeat in the body of the manuscript the data found in tables and figures;
• Instead of presenting excessively long tables, use charts as an alternative to make it easier for the readers to understand the contents;
• In tables, even if the p-value is not significant, state its value instead of “NS” (e.g., p = 0.29 instead of NS).
PLAGIARISM
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism is not accepted in IJCS. It compromises the true meaning of Science. Plagiarism is defined when an author attempts to use someone else work as his or her own. Another form of plagiarism is self-plagiarism, ou duplication: it occurs when an author reuses significant parts of his or her own published work without appropriate references. Plagiarism is a scientific misconduct and will be addressed as such. When plagiarism is detected at any time before publication, the editorial office will take appropriate action as directed by the standards set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For additional information, please visit http://www.publicationethics.org.
IJCS uses the iThenticate software to verifiy the originality of content submitted before publication. iThenticate checks submissions against millions of published research papers, and billions of web content. Authors, researchers and freelancers can also use iThenticate to screen their work before submission by visiting http://www.ithenticate.com.
PLAGIARISM DETECT BEFORE PUBLISHING
IJCS editors will evaluate any case of plagiarism on its limits. If plagiarism is detected before publishing then we will inform the author(s) and will ask them to rewrite the content or use appropriate references from where the content has been taken. If more than 25% of the paper is plagiarized, then the article will be rejected and authors notified.
HOW PLAGIARISM IS CHECKED?
All the submitted manuscripts for publication are checked for plagiarism with online tools after submission and before starting review.
HOW IS PLAGIARISM HANDLED?
The manuscripts in which the plagiarism is detected are handled based on the extent of the plagiarism.
10-25% Plagiarism: The manuscript is sent back to the author for content revision without entering the review process. > 25% Plagiarism: The manuscript will be rejected without the entering the review process. The authors are advised to revise the manuscript and resubmit the manuscript.
PLAGIARISM DETECTION AFTER PUBLICATION
If a case of plagiarism is detected after IJCS had published the article we will contact the author’s institute and funding agencies.
A determination of misconduct will lead the IJCS to publish a statement, linked online to and from the original paper, to note the plagiarism and to provide a reference to the plagiarised material. In severe cases (> 50% of plagiarism) the paper will be formally retracted.
WORD COUNT LIMITS
The electronic word count should include the title, the cover page, abstract, text, references and figures/tables legends.
PUBLICATION FEE
As of 04/01/2024, IJCS will implement a publication fee for the first author of the approved article according to the following conditions:
- If the first author, whether national or international, is not a member of SBC; or
- If the first author is a member but is in arrears.
The first author, whose SBC membership is current at the time of article approval, will be exempt from any payment.
It is emphasized that no fee will be charged at the time of article submission, only after approval.
Articles submitted before the date mentioned above will not incur any charges; only those submitted after this date.
Authors invited by the journal to write a certain type of article (e.g., short editorials, editorials, letter to the editor, etc.) will be exempt from any payment.
RATES AND PAYMENT
| Rates | |
| Value for SBC Members | Free |
| Value for Non-Members/Arrears | R$ 1.000,00* |
*For residents outside Brazil, the amount will be converted to dollars based on the exchange rate of the day.
After article approval, the editorial secretary will contact the first author if payment is required, providing the link for fee payment. The article will only proceed to editorial production upon payment. Current members will have their articles automatically forwarded for editorial production.
THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS
ANALYSIS (PEER REVIEW)
IJCS uses a double-blind peer-review system, meaning that the reviewers of the paper will be blind to the identity of the author(s), and the author(s) will be blind to the identity of the reviewer. At initial submission, a manuscript is reviewed by editorial staff for compliance with journal style and to make sure the submission is clear and legible for reviewers and editors. Once the editorial staff have checked in the paper, it is assigned to the Editor-in-Chief, who will assign it to an Associate Editor. The Associate Editor then determines if it should be sent for peer review or if it is not of sufficient priority for IJCS. All reviewers and editors are asked to report any potential conflicts of interest, and when those exist the manuscript is reassigned to a different editor or reviewer. The manuscripts are submitted to statistical review, whenever necessary. Once at least to 2 reviews have been completed, the submission is reviewed by the associate editors and Editor-in-chief, who come to one of the four decisions below. Reviewers have 30 days to review the manuscript.
• Accept: The manuscript is acceptable for publication in its current form. However, minor edits may be made by the medical editors, illustrators, or the editorial staff, and authors will need to work with the appropriate contacts to ensure these changes are incorporated post-acceptance.
• Minor Revision: It is important to note that this decision does not guarantee acceptance. However, less significant edits are required than a Revision Required decision. Authors have 15 days to make the changes requested.
• Major Revision: In this case, more significant edits are required. Authors have 30 days to make the changes requested. It is important to note that this decision does not guarantee acceptance.
• Reject & Resubmit: The manuscript is unacceptable for publication in its current form. However, the editors are willing to reconsider a thoroughly revised manuscript. The authors must respond to all reviewer and editor comments and the submission will be re-reviewed and treated as a new submission.
• Reject: The manuscript is unacceptable for publication and/or is not an appropriate fit for IJCS.
If the article is accepted, the journal will include the name of the editor responsible for the evaluation in the article.
The responsibility for the content of the journals and articles lies with the authors and editors, as per the agreements established between the parties.
APPROVAL
1- Acceptance will be based on originality, significance and scientific contribution to the body of knowledge in the area.
2- The final formatted version (English) will be sent to the author, who must return it within 5 days with minimal spelling adjustments. If the author does not respond in 5 days, these will be considered the final versions for publication.
PUBLICATION
After the author’s approval, the final version is sent for indexing, when the DOI and the XML version are generated for indexing in the main indexers. The manuscript will be allocated to a volume, and published online on the journal website (PDF and HTML).