Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Thank you for choosing to submit your manuscript to the Aortic Africa Journal. We appreciate your decision and look forward to working with you as you advance the field of aortic and cardiovascular research across Africa. To ensure a smooth journey through peer-review and publication, please follow the instructions below carefully. These guidelines are designed to help you present your research in the way we expect, thereby facilitating review and production.

Adherence to these guidelines is essential for a seamless experience for both our reviewers and production team. Should you have any questions or need clarification at any stage, please contact our editorial office. The Aortic Africa Journal editorial team is committed to supporting you and is excited to receive your contribution.

About the Journal

The Aortic Africa Journal is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access publication dedicated to original research and scholarly discourse in a broad range of aortic and cardiovascular-related disciplines, particularly with relevance to Africa and the global context.
As an open-access journal, all articles are freely available upon publication, supporting wide dissemination of knowledge to researchers, clinicians and the public. We believe this open-access model will accelerate the impact of cardiovascular research and support the goals of global health equity.

Submissions are accepted only in English, in order to maintain consistency and global accessibility.

Article Publishing Charge (APC)

The Aortic Africa Journal is dedicated to removing financial barriers for authors. Currently, we do not charge any Article Publishing Charges (APCs). Your work will be published free of charge.
We believe this encourages submissions from both established researchers and early-career scientists, and supports the dissemination of high-quality cardiovascular research across Africa and beyond.
Please note: while APCs are currently waived, we may consider introducing reasonable fees in the future to ensure long-term sustainability. Should this occur, we will offer waivers or discounts for authors with financial needs.

Peer Review and Ethics

Peer Review Process

At the Aortic Africa Journal, we use an open peer-review policy: the identities of authors and reviewers are disclosed to each other to promote transparency, accountability, and quality of feedback.
Every manuscript first undergoes an editorial screening for suitability. Those that meet the journal’s scope and standards are sent to at least two independent expert reviewers. They evaluate scientific merit, methodology, significance, and ethical integrity. Based on their reports, the editors will recommend acceptance, revision, or rejection.
We aim to complete the peer-review initial decision within 1–2 weeks, though this may vary depending on reviewer availability and manuscript complexity. Revisions may involve additional rounds.
Authors revising manuscripts should provide three documents:

1. A Point-by-Point Response to all reviewer comments

2. A Manuscript with Tracked Changes showing all modifications

3. A Clean Manuscript incorporating all changes.

Ethical Guidelines for Authors

Authors must conduct and report research in accordance with established international standards, including those of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Key requirements:

• Ethics Approval and Consent: For human participants, animals or sensitive data, approval from a relevant ethics committee or Institutional Review Board must be obtained and stated in the Methods section. If ethics approval was not required (for example in non-interventional surveys), a rationale must be given. For human subjects, informed consent must also be obtained and declared.

• Clinical Trials: Trials must be registered in a recognized public registry before first enrolment; include the registration number in the abstract.

• Competing Interests: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that may influence the manuscript’s interpretation; include this under “Competing Interests”.

• Data Availability and Materials: Authors should state how others can access the data and materials supporting their findings, or explain why not. Include this under “Availability of Data and Materials”.

• Use of Animals and Humans: For animal research, indicate compliance with relevant institutional/national guidelines. For human research, ensure procedures complied with the Ethics Committee and the Declaration of Helsinki (and subsequent revisions).

Submitting Your Paper

To submit your manuscript to the Aortic Africa Journal, you will need to create an account on our online submission platform if you have not already done so. Please review the guidelines above and ensure your manuscript is prepared accordingly.
By submitting your paper, you agree to an originality check via Crossref™ or similar software. We recommend keeping a copy of the accepted manuscript for your records.

Preparing Your Paper

Authors submit manuscripts spanning medicine, cardiovascular science, allied health and public health with a focus on aortic/cardiovascular topics. Manuscripts should follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE).
Submission Checklist:

• Title Page: Title, all authors’ names and affiliations, and the corresponding author’s contact information.

• Abstract: Structured abstract (Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions), maximum ~300 words.

• Keywords: 5–8 keywords in MeSH style; do not duplicate terms from the title.

• Main Text, organised as follows:

  • Introduction: Background and study objectives

  • Materials and Methods: Experimental design, procedures, materials, enabling replication

  • Results: Clear presentation of findings, supported by tables, figures

  • Discussion: Interpretation of results, comparison to previous literature

  • Limitations: Acknowledge factors that may affect interpretation

  • Conclusion: Summarise main findings, implications, and suggest future research

• Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: State whether ethics approval and consent were obtained (or give rationale if not).

• Availability of Data and Materials: Explain how the data supporting your findings can be accessed (or state if not applicable).

• Competing Interests: Declare any conflicts of interest, or state none.

• Funding: State sources of financial support, or none.

• Authors’ Contributions: Detail each author’s role in the study.

• Acknowledgments: Acknowledge non-author contributions if applicable.

• Declarations: Any additional declarations not covered above.

• References: Use Vancouver style for citations.

• Appendices (if necessary): Include supplementary material relevant to the main text.

• Tables: Each on a separate page, with captions.

• Figures and Captions: High-quality figures; captions listed separately at the end of the manuscript.

Word-Count and Reference Limits

To ensure consistency and readability, the journal stipulates the following limits (for typical article types):

• Original Research: 3,000–4,500 words; up to 40 references; up to 10 tables/figures total

• Narrative Review: 3,500–5,000 words; up to 60 references; up to 10 tables/figures

• Systematic Review: 4,500–5,000 words; up to 60 references; up to 10 tables/figures

• Editorial: 750–2,500 words; up to 10 references; up to 3 tables/figures

• Clinical Trial: 3,000–5,000 words; up to 50 references; up to 10 tables/figures; include trial registration and ethics approval details

• Perspective: 1,000–3,000 words; up to 30 references; up to 5 tables/figures

• Opinion: 1,000–2,000 words; up to 20 references; up to 2 tables/figures

• Letter to the Editor: 500–1,000 words; up to 5 references; no tables or figures

• Commentary: 1,000–2,000 words; up to 20 references; up to 2 tables/figures

For all submissions, authors should indicate the word count at the time of submission.
While these limits are recommended, we recognise that exceptional content may warrant longer manuscripts. If reviewers suggest additional material and you agree, we will consider revised manuscripts that exceed these limits on a case-by-case basis.

Use of Third-Party Material

It is mandatory to obtain written permission for any third-party material you intend to reuse (unless covered by fair use or similar policies). Limited short text extracts or materials for review/criticism may be allowed without formal permission, but for any other third-party content not under your copyright, you must secure permission before submission.

Data Sharing Policy

To promote transparency and reproducibility, authors are strongly encouraged to deposit datasets supporting their findings in a recognised data repository that assigns a persistent digital identifier (preferably a DOI) and provides long-term preservation.
Authors should:

• Provide a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript (how data can be accessed, or reason if not).

• Cite any referenced data sets appropriately.

• Be prepared to supply reviewer access to the dataset if required (e.g., via a reviewer URL).
  Note: While datasets will not be formally peer-reviewed, authors are responsible for their accuracy and reliability.

Plagiarism Policy

The Aortic Africa Journal uses plagiarism–detection tools (e.g., Turnitin) to ensure the originality of submissions. A maximum similarity index of 10% is permitted. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold may undergo additional review and may require revision to reduce similarity.

AI Chatbots Usage Policy

Use of AI‐powered chatbots and generative tools is permitted only for language polishing, preliminary idea generation, or clarity enhancement. They must not be used to write substantial sections of the manuscript.
We use detection tools (e.g., Copyscape, Grammarly’s AI detector) to ensure that AI-generated content remains below 10% of the manuscript. Manuscripts with more than 10% substantial AI-generated content may be rejected.

Queries

If you have any questions or need assistance at any stage of the submission or publication process, please contact our editorial office.

Thank you for your interest in publishing with the Aortic Africa Journal. We look forward to working with you to advance cardiovascular knowledge and health outcomes across Africa and beyond.

— The Aortic Africa Journal Editorial Team