Information for Peer Reviewers
Aims and scope
Heart International is a peer-reviewed, free-to-access journal specializing in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of cardiology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from ‘data-rich’ primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion. To further encourage discussion and learning, original research articles are welcomed across the clinical landscape, including observational, real-world and health outcomes studies. Editorials, commentaries and practice pearl articles are also featured. Please note that Heart International no longer accepts case reports.
The journal is of interest to clinicians, healthcare professionals and researchers as it provides practical advice relevant to the everyday clinical setting regarding the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, congenital diseases, arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, hypertension, imaging, stroke, thrombosis, and the use of cardiac devices, electrophysiology and interventional cardiology
European Journal of Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology is a peer-reviewed, free-to-access journal specializing in the publication of balanced and comprehensive review articles written by leading authorities to address the most important and salient developments in the field of arrhythmia and electrophysiology. The aim of these reviews is to break down the high science from ‘data-rich’ primary papers and provide practical advice and opinion. To further encourage discussion and learning, original research articles are welcomed across the clinical landscape, including observational, real-world and health outcomes studies. Editorials, case reports, commentaries and practice pearl articles are also featured.
The journal is of interest to clinicians, healthcare professionals and researchers as it provides practical advice relevant to the everyday clinical setting regarding the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, and the use of cardiac devices and electrophysiology.
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
Many articles are independently commissioned by the journal’s commissioning editor following specialist guidance from the Editorial Board. However, the journal also welcomes and encourages external submissions through our online portal.
Touch Medical Media endeavours to publish unbiased, balanced reviews and studies and follow the publication guidelines as recommended by the ICMJE and in the Good Publication Practice guidelines (updated 2022 Good Publication Practice guidelines available here). All authors are asked to disclose personal, commercial, academic, and financial/non-financial interests in the ‘Disclosures’ section of their manuscript, along with any funding, financial support and medical writing/editorial assistance relating to the paper. All articles undergo a rigorous, double-blind peer review, conducted by at least two independent experts in the field to ensure articles are balanced, objective and relevant to the current clinical landscape. Please download our Instructions for Authors for further details.
Pre-submission enquiries
Authors wishing to discuss potential submissions, or seek advice, are asked to contact the Editorial Office ,who are happy to assist with any pre-submission enquiries.
Submission
Manuscripts can be submitted through the touchCARDIO Editorial Manager site. If you are a new user, please follow the instructions to register.
Upon submission, all articles are assessed by the Editor, and where necessary a member of the Editorial Board, to determine their suitability for inclusion and appropriateness for peer review. Touch Medical Media has a strict policy against plagiarism. We use anti-plagiarism software including iThenticate to check all submissions before peer review.
Plain language summaries and digital features
The journal welcomes authors to submit plain language summaries (PLS) and accompanying multimedia content with their articles. Please refer to the Instructions for Authors or contact the Editorial office for more information.
Publication Fees
There are no publication charges associated with submission or article processing. All editorial services are self-funded by Touch Medical Media.
Author guidelines
Authors should carefully read and adhere to the journal’s Instructions for Authors.
The documents below provide information for authors to complete the submission process:
Instructions for Authors
Pre-submission checklist for authors
ICMJE Conflict of Interest form
Heart International copyright agreement form
European Journal of Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology copyright agreement form
Publication ethics and malpractice
touchCARDIO aims to publish unbiased, balanced reviews and studies. Authors should adhere to the journal’s publication ethics and malpractice statement, which can be found here: Publication ethics and malpractice statement: Publication ethics and malpractice statement
Links to the latest good publication guidelines can be found below:
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
Good Publication Practice (GPP) 3
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
Peer review
Articles undergo a strict, double-blind peer review, conducted by at least two independent experts in the field.
The publisher will aim to notify authors of the peer review decision through Editorial Manager within 3-4 weeks of submission.
Production
Article proofs are prepared within 7-10 weeks of acceptance. To streamline the production process, the content management system, Kriyadocs, is used to organize the production process, typeset and share the manuscript proofs with authors. The article is copyedited and proofread to house style and checked for grammatical errors by in-house editors. Authors are asked to review and clearly annotate the page proofs with any corrections. Proofreading is the responsibility of the author. Only minor changes may be made at the proofing stage; major changes will not be accepted.
Publication
Articles are published online ahead of publication before the journal issue is published.
Submission deadlines:
Heart International (bi-annual)
Issue 1 2024: 05 January 2024
Issue 2 2024: 14 June 2024
European Journal of Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology (annual)
Issue 1 2024: 03 July 2024
Access and sharing
All articles are free-to-access for all members of the cardiology community. Authors may share their published article with colleagues and peers through social media but are reminded to follow any social media guidelines set by their employers. Touch Medical Media may extend the reach of articles by sharing non-sponsored published content on its dedicated social media channels. If authors wish to opt out of this please contact the Editorial Office.
Electronic back-up and archiving
All articles published in Heart International and European Journal of Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology are digitally preserved in Portico.org
www.portico.org/publishers/touch
Copyright and licensing
Authors transfer the copyright of the article to Touch Medical Media, who publish the article as free-to-access.
INFORMATION FOR PEER REVIEWERS
All manuscripts submitted to Touch Medical Media journals undergo double-blind peer review. The process aims to provide authors with objective feedback to improve their work and allows the editor to assess the paper’s suitability for publication in the journal.
Peer reviewers should carefully read and adhere to the instructions outlined in the document below. Please refer to these instructions before accepting to review a paper and throughout the review process.
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About Touch Medical Media
Touch Medical Media publishes a rich and diverse portfolio of fully referenced, free-to-access, peer-reviewed journals across the clinical and pharmaceutical arenas. Touch Medical Media aims to assist in the education and clinical practice of healthcare professionals.
Reprints and eprints
Reprint and eprint requests should be made to the journal office stating order size and intended use:Â editorialmanager@touchmedicalmedia.com
Advertising
Advertisements are displayed within the front matter of the journal and across the hosting platform. These are selected by Touch Medical Media on the basis that they provide further learning opportunities for healthcare professionals and include:
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Relevant events and information from our society partners
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Educational activities by unrestricted educational grants, created internally by touchIME
Advertisements are not related in any way to editorial decision making.
Contact us
If your question is not addressed on these pages, then the journal’s editorial staff will be pleased to help. Please contact via email: editorialmanager@touchmedicalmedia.com
Pre-submission enquiries:
Katey Gabrysch, Editorial Director:Â katey.gabrysch@touchmedicalmedia.com
Production:
Carla Junkier, Editorial Director:Â carla.junkier@touchmedicalmedia.com
