Rules of Procedure

SECTION 1. Definition, aims, duration, and funding

Article 1. Definition

REC: Interventional Cardiology is an official publication of the Interventional Cardiology Association (ACI), which forms part of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), and belongs to the family of publications of Revista Española de Cardiología, devoted to the study, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

REC: Interventional Cardiology is a 3-monthly, peer-reviewed (double-blind) bilingual (Spanish-English) biomedical journal, published mainly online and with a very small print run. Publication is open-access and is therefore free of charge to authors and readers.

Article 2. Aims

REC: Interventional Cardiology focuses on interventional cardiology, covering all diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of cardiovascular disease related to catheter-based techniques and their multiple variants. The journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical and experimental studies approved by the Editorial Board and consonant with the editorial line. The journal regularly features original articles, clinical reviews and updates, editorials, special articles, debates, letters to the editor, and technological innovations in the sector.

All the journal’s processes are conducted strictly in accordance with international ethics regulations on the publication of biomedical research and information, as are the steps taken to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the research published.

The views and opinions expressed in this journal are exclusively those of the authors and not of the SEC, the ACI-SEC, or the publisher. The latter accept no responsibility for any losses, actions, claims, procedures, costs, expenses, damage or other responsibility of any type or any form arising directly or indirectly from the content of the publication.

Article 3. Duration

REC: Interventional Cardiology aims to be a long-term publication, and consequently its duration is indefinite, unless otherwise decided by the ACI-SEC Board and the Editorial Team, which, in case of disagreement with the workings of the journal or a lack of adequate funding, will present a resolution to interrupt publication to the SEC Executive Committee.

Article 4. Funding

REC: Interventional Cardiology will be funded in its entirety by the ACI-SEC. The funds will derive from agreements for collaboration that the ACI-SEC maintains with collaborating companies and that aid the training and research activities developed by the ACI-SEC as part of its main objectives. The funds will be adjusted yearly according to the journal’s budget for the forthcoming year.

The journal will maintain complete independence from its funding bodies, which will have no influence whatsoever on its publication or contents. Nevertheless, the journal will make true and transparent declarations of any type of conflicts of interest that may occur.

SECTION 2. Structure and management

Article 5. Organizational structure

The organizational structure of the journal will include:

• An Editor-in-Chief
• A sufficient number of Associate Editors
• An Advisory Board
• An Editorial Board with national and international members
• An Editorial Office

Article 6. Editorial Team of REC: Interventional Cardiology. Regulations and responsibilities

6.1. Regulations

1. The Editorial Team is composed of the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editors.
2. The associate editor with the highest seniority in the position shall be considered the Deputy editor; at equal seniority, the one who has held a position on an ACI-SEC board and, if there is more than one, whichever is older.
3. The Editorial Team will meet at appropriate intervals to ensure the smooth running of the journal. Such meetings will frequently be held as teleconferences and through face-to-face meetings at least once every 6 months.
4. If the Editorial Team is renewed, there must be a minimum 60-day handover period during which both teams will coexist.

6.2. Responsibilities

The Editorial Team will carry out the following duties:

1. Be responsible for the daily running of the journal and define its scope and editorial policies.
2. Implement agreements with Revista Española de Cardiología, the SEC and ACI-SEC, while guaranteeing the Team’s editorial independence.
3. Select the manuscripts suitable for publication, based on their originality, impartiality, accuracy, objectivity, and confidentiality and act transparently with all the agents involved in the process.
4. Ensure the quality of the double-blind peer-review process.
5. Commit to strict observance of international regulations on the ethics of scientific publications and the integrity of published research.
6. Decide the process of handling complaints and appeals on editorial decisions and investigate any ethical infractions, taking all reasonable measures for their prompt resolution, acting impartially, and involving authors’ affiliated institutions, if necessary. The Editorial Team will reconsider editorial decisions if requested by authors and will publish corrections or retractions when appropriate.
7. Decide which policies should be applied if there are conflicts of interest concerning any of the agents involved in the process (authors, reviewers, Editorial Team) or the processing of manuscripts submitted to the journal for review by members of the Editorial Team, ensuring the impartiality of decisions.
8. Annually publish and update conflicts of interest for each member of the Editorial Team.
9. Appoint members of the Advisory Board and Editorial Board.
10. Inform the ACI-SEC Board of its activities and the direction of the journal.

SECTION 3. Terms of appointment of senior management

Article 7. Editor-in-Chief

7.1. Appointment and replacement

1. The Editor-in-Chief of REC: Interventional Cardiology will be chosen by the ACI-SEC Board and confirmed by the Executive Committee of the SEC and will serve for a 3-year term, renewable for additional 3-year periods at the discretion of the ACI-SEC Board.
2. The Editor-in-Chief will propose to the ACI-SEC Board the appointment or termination of the Associate Editors.
3. In the case of resignation of the Editor-in-Chief the position shall be covered by the Deputy Editor, until the ACI-SEC Board, with the agreement of the Executive Committee, appoints a new Editor-in-Chief.
4. The Editor-in-Chief can be dismissed if there is disagreement with the running of the journal, expressed in writing to the SEC Executive Committee and the ACI-SEC Board, and signed by more than 50 associate members of the SEC who are also members of the ACI-SEC, or when the SEC Executive Committee and the ACI-SEC Board jointly agree that the Editor-in-Chief has been negligent or unsatisfactory in fulfilling their duties. The Deputy Editor will be assigned the duties of the Editor-in-Chief until the next meeting of the General Assembly, which must appoint a new Editor-in-Chief.

The dismissed Editor-in-Chief may appeal to the Assembly of the ACI-SEC.

7.2. Role and general responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief

• Select the Associate Editors and, from those selected, the Deputy Editor, on the basis of the editor’s competence and suitability for the duties required and propose the candidate to the ACI-SEC Board and the SEC Executive Committee for ratification.
• Actively solicit the ideas and opinions of authors, readers, reviewers, and members of the Advisory and Editorial Boards on how to improve the journal.
• Encourage and be up-to-date in innovation in the field of biomedical publication.
• Facilitate adequate resources, expert guidance and appropriate training to the agents involved in planning the journal so that they may carry out their tasks professionally and enhance the journal´s quality.
• Support initiatives aiming to reduce poor academic practice.
• Support initiatives to educate researchers on publication ethics.
• Analyze the effects of the journal’s policies on authors’ and reviewers’ behavior and, if necessary, review policies to encourage responsible behavior.
• Ensure that any press releases issued by the journal reflect the message of the article reported and place it in context.

Article 8. Associate Editors

8.1. Appointment and replacement

1. The Editor-in-Chief of REC: Interventional Cardiology will propose the appointment or dismissal of the Associate Editors and, among these, the Deputy Editor. The proposal will be presented first to the ACI-SEC Board and subsequently to the SEC Executive Committee through the Editor-in-Chief of Revista Española de Cardiología for ratification.
2. The Deputy Editor will temporarily replace the Editor-in-Chief in case of absence, illness, resignation, or dismissal, until a new Editor-in-Chief is appointed.
3. If the Editor-in-Chief resigns or is dismissed, the Associate Editors may continue in their posts, if they so wish, until the end of the term for which they were appointed.
4. Associate Editors will be appointed for a 3-year term, renewable for another 3 years if proposed by the Editor-in-Chief if he/she also wishes to renew his/ her term, with the ratification of the SEC Executive Committee and the ACI-SEC Board.
5. If the Editorial Team is renewed, there must be a minimum 60-day handover period, during which both teams will coexist.

8.2. General roles and responsibilities

The Associate Editors will work with the Editor-in-Chief on all his/her assigned tasks, according to their coordination and delegation. An outline of these tasks is described in section 6.2.

Article 9. Advisory Board and Editorial Board. Composition and duties

9.1. Advisory Board

The Advisory Board will work with the Editorial Team of REC: Interventional Cardiology, mainly in the following:

• Assess important matters, mainly strategic and concerning the planning, editorial line and distribution of the journal.
• Review 2 articles per year within a 15-day deadline.
• Draft 1 editorial article every 2 years.

The Advisory Board will have up to 10 members. Members will be chosen by the Editorial Team, who will select professionals with notable careers in research and publication in interventional cardiology.

9.2. Editorial Board

The Editorial Board will work with the Editorial Team of the journal, and commit to carrying out the following tasks:

• Review 2-4 articles per year within a 15-day deadline.
• Draft 1 editorial every 3 years.

The Editorial Board will be composed of national and international experts following criteria of competence and capacity. Members will be chosen by the Editorial Team to serve during the Team’s term, on the basis of their ability and competence.

The Editorial Committee will be subject to a certain degree of renewal, based on its performance and commitment to the Journal. To this effect, members’ performance will be reviewed every 3 years.

Article 10. Editorial office

The editorial office will consist of staff from REC Publications assigned for this purpose by the Editor-in-Chief of Revista Española de Cardiología. The editorial office will be headed by an editorial director and an editorial coordinator.