The “Folia Cardiologica” journal is a scientific and educational bimonthly targeted at both young and experienced cardiologists and internists, cardiology fellows, and medical students interested in cardiology. The journal publishes original clinical and experimental papers, interesting reviews of an educational nature, and case reports.

The “Young Cardiology” section presents interesting original papers, the first author of which is younger than 35 years of age.

Manuscripts submitted for publication in the Journal are evaluated as to whether they present scientific / educational merit within the announced topic. Received manuscripts are initially examined by the Journal editors. Manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication are rejected. Incomplete submissions or manuscripts not prepared in the required style are sent back to the authors without scientific review.

If manuscripts are accepted for review, they are evaluated by at least two outside referees. The peer review process is confidential and identities of authors and reviewers are not released. In cases author(s) of manuscripts and reviewers are no more anonymous, reviewers sign the declaration stating no conflict of interests, i.e. no direct personal relationships (first- and second-degree kinship, legal ties, relationship by marriage), superior/subordinate professional relations or direct scientific cooperation within the two years preceding the review. Referees are asked to provide a written review together with recommendation of acceptance, requirement for revision or rejection of the article. Review forms are available at the Journal web page. Names of reviewers of individual manuscripts are not revealed; the list of reviewers cooperating with the Journal is announced once a year. Final decisions as to whether the article is published remain with the Editor-in-Chief.  

Reviewers’ criteria for manuscripts qualification

• Title reflects the subject undertaken
• Assumptions are proper
• Work of practical nature
• Work of educational nature
• Aims are clearly defined
• Appropriate methodology*
• Ethical criteria fulfilled*
• Research-based work*
• Results are adequately presented*
• Statistical analysis is reliable*
• Discussion refers to results*
• Conclusions based on study findings*
• Conclusions refer to aims*
• Suitably chosen, proper number and up to date references
• Proper length
• All figures and tables are required
• Standard of written English acceptable

* criteria exclusively for research papers

Our policy is to keep all articles published as final VOR (Version of Record) unaltered and exact. However, if changes in already published VOR articles are necessary, they will be executed after case-by-case analysis by Journal Editors and respective staff of Via Medica and in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). They will be implemented as a Correction Notice, Expression of Concern, Retraction, or Removal. These will be explained in a post-publication notice, permanently linked to the original work to guarantee full transparency and permanency. If authors find errors in their published articles and there is consensus about that among all co-authors, the corresponding author should formulate a detailed request for changes and submit it using the Support contact e-mail at the Journal’s website.

Correction Notice (CN)

A separate CN will be published if an error to be corrected can impact the interpretation of the article, but the integrity of the article has been preserved. Such CN will provide details of the error and changes made to the VOR article. It will be linked to the article of interest, which will also be corrected. Additionally, a footnote will be added to the article displaying the electronic link to the correction notice.

Retractions

A Retraction Statement will be published in accordance with COPE guidelines in all instances where a major disclosed error undermines or invalidates the presented conclusions or where research misconduct or publication misconduct has occurred (fabricated data, plagiarism, manipulated images, etc.). Issuing a retraction will always be preceded by an investigation by our editorial team and an appropriate Editor. In case of retraction, a statement on this matter will be made available in the online issue of the Journal and will be linked to the retracted article online. Additionally, a ‘retracted’ watermark will be added to the article. If articles are retracted, they are not usually removed from the website. In most cases, the arguments for the retraction are so severe that such manuscripts should not be cited in any other scientific literature.

Expressions of Concern

In cases where serious concerns have been raised about a published article, however, the results of the investigation are not conclusive or have not been completed for an extensive period, an Expression of Concern may be issued and linked to the article. This can be later followed by a Correction Notice or Retraction Statement, which will constitute a permanent part of the published record together with the original article.

Article Removal

A Removal Notice (replacing an online article) is restricted for very rare cases of serious problems that cannot be addressed by a Correction Notice or Retraction Statement (e.g., a defamatory article or an article infringing other legal rights, violating privacy, etc.).

Addenda

An addendum represents a different type of notification aiming to add information to an article and not contradict it. This may be published if authors request updates to their original publication. Addenda in this Journal will usually be subject to review by the Editors and – if accepted – will be electronically linked to the online article to which they relate.

This publication is intended for doctors and students of medicine. Every effort has been made to provide actual information, especially on medicine dosage, however, it is advisable that doctors make final decisions on their usage. This publication is not meant to replace a proper medical diagnosis or therapy. Responsibility taken by authors is suitable for this kind of publication and is not tantamount to responsibility for an individual medical advice.

The publisher has made every effort concerning reliability of the publication and the included information on the assortment, medicines and their prices. Yet the only legal information valid in the Republic of Poland are legal acts and in terms of trade – price offers of drugstores. As far as the information on medicines is concerned, the only lawful information is an updated characteristic of a medicinal substance and its producer’s leaflet.

The authors, consultants and publishers of this publication do not take any responsibility for possible mistakes or harms resulted from the information usage. Any cases of legal claims connected with medicines and chemical substances being under clinical examination are not going to be taken into consideration.

The Editor is responsible for everything published in the journal. The Editor takes all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material published. The Editor’s decision to accept or reject a paper for publication is based only on the paper’s importance, originality, clarity and the study’s relevance to the remit of the journal. The description of peer review process is published and clarified and the Editor is able and ready to justify any important deviation from the described process. The authors and peer reviewers’ identities are protected. The Editor provides guidance to authors and reviewers on everything that is expected of them. The Editor does not reverse a decision to accept a submission unless serious problems are identified.

The relationship of the Editor to the publisher and owner is based firmly on the principle of editorial independence. The Editor makes decisions on which articles to publish based on quality and suitability for the journal and without interference from the journal owner/publisher.

The Editor can ensure that research material they publish conforms to internationally accepted ethical guidelines. The Editor is able to protect the confidentiality of individual information.

The Editor has a duty to act if they suspect misconduct. The duty extends to both published and unpublished papers. The Editor should seek a response from those accused. If not satisfied with the response, the Editor should ask the relevant employers or some appropriate body to investigate.

Editors should have systems for managing their own conflicts of interest as well as those of their staff, authors, reviewers and Editorial board members.

Authors are forbidden to publish the same research in more than one journal.