Focus and Scope

“Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine” (RHYTHM) is an open access, double-blind, peer-reviewed quarterly journal, owned, managed, and published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences since 2006. It is an official Journal of the Cardiovascular Research Center of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (in collaboration with the Iranian Society of Cardiac Surgeons) and is published quarterly. The journal publishes original articles, review papers, case reports, and letters covering all areas of cardiovascular medicine and surgery, spanning basic science, clinical practice, and translational research. It provides a forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of Cardiovascular Medicine, including edge of sciences research and educational issues. Papers submitted to this journal which do not adhere to the Instructions for Authors will be returned for appropriate revision to be in line with the instructions for authors. They may then be resubmitted. Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form. In English or in any other language, without the written consent of the publisher. 

Information for Authors

The Journal of Tehran University Heart Center (P-ISSN:1735-8620, E-ISSN:2008-2371) has been published for 19 years. In 2025, the journal made a rebranding. To move beyond the geographical constraints of our former title to align with our growing global audience and influence, and to better represents our expansive scientific scope, covering all facets of cardiovascular medicine from foundational basic research and clinical investigations to translational medicine, innovative therapies, and their real-world impact, the journal changed its title to Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM) with P-ISSN: 3115-7270 and E-ISSN: 3092-7587.

Reporting Guidelines and Best Practices

To ensure the quality of articles, it is strongly advised to the submitting authors to strictly observe and follow the related resources in preparing & developing their manuscripts before submission. Some resources are:

Animal Studies: ARRIVE and Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

Human Research: Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013

Clinical Trials: CONSORT (for protocols, see the SPIRIT guidance)

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA guidelines (for protocols, see the PRISMA-P guidelines)

Case Reports: the CARE case report guidelines

More Research and Reporting Guidelines could be maintained from the EQUATOR Network Resource Center.

Article Types

Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM) accepts the following categories of articles.

Original Article

Clinical and pre-clinical papers based on either normal subjects or patients and the result of cardiovascular pre-clinical research will be considered for publication provided they have an obvious clinical relevance.

Review Article

Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM) also accept review articles in any type.

Letter to Editor

Letters to the editor must not exceed 500 words and should focus on a specific article published in “Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM)” within the preceding 12 weeks. No original data may be included. Authors will receive pre-publication proofs, and the authors of the article cited invited to reply. 

Also, Brief communication, Case reports and Letter to the Editors will be welcomed.

Submission of Manuscripts

Papers should type in double spaced on A4 paper size. The cover letter should be prepared & subjected to journal Editor in Chief, Professor Abbasali Karimi.

Also, manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the journal’s website: http:// rhythm.tums.ac.ir. Online submission allows the manuscript to be handled in electronic forms throughout the review process.

Review of Manuscripts

All manuscript correctly submitted to will first be reviewed by the Editors. Some manuscripts will be returned to authors at this stage if the paper is deemed inappropriate for publication in “Research in Heart Yield and Translational Medicine (RHYTHM)”, if the paper does not meet submission requirements, or if the paper is not deemed to have a sufficiently high priority. All papers considered suitable by the Editors to progress further in the review process will undergo appropriate peer review and all papers provisionally accepted for publication will undergo a detailed statistical review. 

Preparation of Manuscripts

All submitted manuscript must not exceed 5000 words, including References, Figure Legends and Tables. The number of tables, Figures and References should be appropriate to the manuscript content and should not be excessive. Authors should comply with the manuscript formatting and the ethical conventions of the” Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” issued by the international committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org)

Style and Spelling

Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their manuscripts checked carefully before submission. This will help expedite the review process and avoid confusion. Abbreviations of standard SI units of measurement only should be used.

Ethical Considerations

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journals editor may seek advice about submitted papers on any aspect of a paper that raises concerns, for example, ethical issues or issues of data or materials access. It is important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, etc.

Based on Iran Ministry of Health & Medical Education regulation & rules, all submitted manuscript to the journals should be registered within Iran National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research earlier & achieved the Ethics Committee Approval Code which should be submitted along with manuscript & should be mentioned in the last part of manuscript material & methods section. Each Ethics Committee Approval Code will be verified online at Iran National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research website available at: https://ethics.research.ac.ir Clinical Trials

Authors should comply with the clinical trial registration statement from the ICMJE. More information can be found at www.icmje.org. Clinical trial reports should also comply with the consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and include a flow diagram presenting the enrollment, intervention allocation, follow–up, and data analysis with number of subjects for each (www.consort–statement.org). Please also refer specifically to the CONSORT Checklist of items to include when reporting a randomized clinical trial.

Human and Animal Rights

Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, should include a statement that the studies performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by an appropriate ethics committee. If a study has been granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption). Authors will be expected to have obtained ethics committee approval and informed patient consent for any experimental use of a novel procedure or tool where a clear clinical advantage based on clinical need was not apparent before treatment.

In studies involving animal experimentations, all requirements & standards highlighted in latest edition of the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" should be observed & addressed. Also, the welfare of animals used for research must be respected. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals have been followed, and that the studies have been approved by a research ethics committee at the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted (where such a committee exists). For all those experimental studies done through animals, the European Committee Guidelines on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes should be strictly observed, addressed & stated.

All clinical trials should be registered before they are going to be started in clinical trials registries & bear a clinical trial registration number and name of the trial. The authors may use International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) of WHO or its sister registries like Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials. Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol, assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the method of masking (blinding), based on the CONSORT statement. No clinical trial paper will be accepted for review & publishing without valid clinical trials registration number.

Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor considers that the research has not been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. In rare cases, Editors may contact the ethics committee for further information.

Informed Consent

For all research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study should be obtained from participants. For all manuscripts that include details, images, or videos relating to individual participants, written informed consent for the publication of these must be obtained from the participants. A statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript. Identifying details (names, dates of birth, identity numbers and other information) of the participants that were studied should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and genetic profiles unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the participant (or parent or guardian if the participant is incapable) gave written informed consent for publication. The final decision on whether consent to publish is required lies with the Editor.

Section of the Manuscripts

Original articles should be divided into the following section: (1) Title page, (2) Abstract and Keywords, (3) Introduction, (4) Methods, (5) Results, (6) Discussion, (7) Conclusion, (8) Declarations including: Ethical Approval, Funding, Conflict of Interest (9) Acknowledgements, (10) References. (11) Figure legends, (12) Tables & (13) Figures. 

General Format

Prepare your manuscript text using a word processing package. Submissions of text in the form of PDF files are not permitted. Manuscript should be double – spaced, including text, tables, legends and references. Number each page  and also the line numbers. Please avoid footnotes; use instead, and as sparingly as possible, parenthesis within brackets. Enter text in the style and order of the Journal. Type references in the correct order and style of the journal. Type unjustified, without hyphenation, except for compound words. Manuscript should be prepared based on the journal outline style available at: ????. Use the TAB key once for paragraph indents. Clearly identify unusual symbols and Greek letters, Differentiate between the letter o and zero, and the letters I and I and the number 1 Mark the approximate position of each figure and table. Check the final copy of your Manuscript carefully, as any spelling mistakes and errors may be translated into the typeset version.

Title page

The title page should include the following:

Title of the Article

The title should be concise and descriptive, reflecting the content of the article. Please provide a Running Title up to 40

Authors’ Names

List the name(s) of the authors along with their highest academic degrees.

No more than 12 authors are acceptable for an article, while a maximum of 6 authors is allowed for case reports.

Example:

Masih Tajdini1,2*, Amir Hossein Behnoush1, Amirmohammad Khalaji1, Satish R Raj3

Please provide full Affiliation for al authors labeling by numbers in superscript form accordingly.

Provide the Hospital, Research Center, Institution, University, City and Country name for each author.

Example:

1- Tehran Heart Center, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2- Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.

3- Department of Cardiac Sciences, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

ORCID of All Authors

Include the ORCID identifier for each author to enhance the visibility and proper attribution of their work.

Corresponding Author Information

Provide the following details for the corresponding author(s):

Full name of the corresponding author

Academic title (e.g., Professor, Associate, Assistant)

Institution/organizational affiliation in details

Complete postal address (including postal code)

City

Country

Phone number

Email address (preferably the academic/institutional email)

Example:

*Corresponding Author: Mohammad Ali Boroumand, Professor of Pathology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Tehran Heart Center, North Kargar Street, Tehran, Iran. 1411713138. Tel: +98 21 88029256. Fax: +98 21 8029257. E-mail: borumand@sina.tums.ac.ir

Abstract

All abstracts may not contain more than 250 words and should also be submitted as a separate file, the abstract should be formatted with the following heading: (1) Background, (2) Methods, (3) Results (4) Conclusion.

Keywords

All Keywords should be selected based on the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). A minimum of 3 and a maximum of six Keywords should be submitted.

Formatting Requirements for Figures

Numbering and Titles

Each figure must be numbered sequentially using numerals (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2).

Figures should have a concise title that summarizes their content.

Figure Legends

Include a detailed legend for each figure within the manuscript file, explaining the figure’s content and context.

All symbols and abbreviations used in the figure must be defined in the legend.

Image Quality

Figures should be high resolution, with a minimum size of 13 cm × 18 cm (5" × 7").

Avoid reducing figures to fit the publication layout; submit them in their original size in separated individual attached files.

File Format

Submit each figure as an individual image file in formats such as .tif, .jpg, or .png.

For multipanel figures, combine all panels into a single file and label each panel (A, B, C, etc.) in the upper-left corner.

Accessibility

Provide alternative text (alt text) descriptions for figures to enhance accessibility for individuals using screen readers.

Submission Guidelines

Figures should not be embedded in the manuscript text; submit them as separate files.

Ensure that all figures are clearly referenced in the manuscript.

Electronic Submission of Figures

Figures should be saved in TIFF format at a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch for color figures and photographs, and 1200 pixels per inch for black-and-white line drawings.

While some other formats may be converted into TIFF by the publisher, this conversion can alter the tones, resolution, and contrast.

Digital color art should be submitted in CMYK rather than RGB format, as the printing process requires colors to be separated into CMYK. Conversions from RGB to CMYK can change the intensity and brightness of colors. Authors should verify that colors appear accurately in CMYK on both screen and in print before submission.

Please note that colors can appear differently on various screens and printers. Failure to follow these guidelines could lead to complications and delays in the publication process.

Tables

Tables should be submitted in portrait layout whenever possible, rather than landscape. Each table should be numbered sequentially using numerals. Additionally, each table must have a title above and an explanatory footnote below. All abbreviations should be defined in the legend.

Numbering and Referencing
All tables must be consecutively numbered (e.g., Table 1, Table 2) and referenced in the text.

Placement
Tables should be placed at the end of the main text, following the references.

Editable Format
Tables must be submitted in an editable Word format and should not be embedded as image files.

Title and Description
Each table should have a clear and descriptive title that summarizes its content.

Column Headings

Use clear and informative headings that indicate what each column represents.

Include units of measurement where applicable.

Data Presentation

Present data in a straightforward manner, ensuring that all statistical information is accurate and relevant. Use appropriate statistical measures (e.g., means, medians, standard deviations).

For reporting p-values, provide three decimal digits (e.g., P=0.130).

For reporting percentages, provide one decimal digit (e.g., 80.0%).

For reporting means±SDs, provide two decimal digits (e.g., means±SDs: 12.62±8.10).

For reporting 95% CIs, provide two decimal digits (e.g., 95% CI: 0.80–0.91).

For reporting ORs and AUCs, provide two decimal digits (e.g., OR: 1.20; AUC=0.87).

Insert the measurement scale where applicable.

Handling Empty Cells

Use specific characteristics or notations to fill empty cells (e.g., “N/A” for not applicable, “0” for no occurrence) to clarify why data is absent.

Footnotes
Include footnotes to clarify abbreviations or any special conditions related to the data presented.

Formatting Consistency
Maintain consistent formatting throughout all tables in terms of font size, alignment, and style.

Acknowledgements

All sources of approved and supported, and substantive contributions of individuals, should be noted in the Acknowledgements, positioned before the list of references.
(This study was approved and supported by ...)

Reference format

All references must be available on PubMed and formatted according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) style.

1. Citation Format

References should adhere to the NLM style, which is based on ANSI/NISO Z39.29-2005 (R2010) standards. This includes using a specific structure for various types of publications such as journal articles, books, and web pages.

2. Numbering

References should be numbered sequentially in the order they are cited in the text. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) for this purpose.

3. Journal Article Format

The basic format for citing a journal article is as follows:

Author(s). Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year; Volume: Page numbers. PubMed PMID: [number].

Example:

Freedman SB, Adler M, Seshadri R, Powell EC. Oral ondansetron for gastroenteritis in a pediatric emergency department. N Engl J Med. 2006 Apr 20;354(16):1698-705. PubMed PMID: 16625009.

4. Book Chapter Format

The format for citing a book chapter is as follows:

Author(s) of the chapter. Title of chapter. In: Main author(s) of the book (eds.). Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. p. Page numbers.

Example:

Chapter citation example: 2. Nichols WW, O’Rourke MF. Aging, high blood pressure and disease in humans. In: Arnold E, ed. McDonald’s Blood Flow in Arteries: Theoretical, Experimental and Clinical Principles. 3rd ed. London/Melbourne/Auckland: Lea and Febiger; 1990.p.398-420

5. Webpage Format

The format for citing a webpage is as follows:

 Author(s). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL (Access date).

Example:

Panteghini M. Recommendations on use of biochemical markers in acute coronary syndrome: IFCC proposals. eJIFCC. http://www.ifcc.org/ejifcc/vo114no2/1402062003014n.htm (Accessed 28 May 2004).

Note

Ensure that the references are complete and provide all necessary information for readers to locate the cited works easily.

Statistics

All manuscript selected for publication will be reviewed for the appropriateness and accuracy of the statistical methods used and the interpretation of statistical results. All papers submitted should provide in their Methods section a subsection detailing the statistical methods, including the specific method used to summarize the data, the methods used to test their hypothesis testing and (if any) the level of significance used for hypothesis testing.

Conflict of Interest

At submission, the journal requires authors to disclose any financial association that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All sources of funding for the work should be acknowledged in the conflict interest section of the manuscript and also in cover letter. Other types of associations, such as consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interest or patent – licensing arrangements should be disclosed to the editors in the cover letter at the time of the of submission. If no conflict of interest exists, please state this in the cover letter.

Also the Authors Roles and Contributions should be declared and specified using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) guideline.

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).

The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.

Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.

The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs regular fonts, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all tables should be placed at the end of manuscript. All illustrations, figures, and diagrams should be mentioned in numbers in the texts and should be uploaded into submission system in a separate induvial files at the time of submission.

The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.

If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Galley Proofs

Galley proof will be sent to the corresponding author either via email or the editorial management system. These should be checked thoroughly for any possible changes or typographic errors and special author names and info including their affiliations. Significant alterations instigated at this stage by the author will be charged to the author. It is the intention of the Editor to review, correct and publish your article as quickly as possible. To achieve this, it is important that all of your corrections are returned to us in one all-inclusive mail or fax. Subsequent additional corrections will not be possible, so please ensure that your first communication is complete. 

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party. 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Revenue Sources

The journal owner and publisher are supporting all publishing costs of the journal. So Article Processing Charge (APC) and any other publication fees in the journal are free for authors. There is NO APC charges for this journal.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policies on Responsible Use

Journal is committed to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly, in manuscript preparation, writing, and reviewing. Our authors, reviewers and editors should strictly adhere to and follow the guidelines and recommendations for design, development, deployment, and the use of AI-based solutions at any stage of the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in academic journals guidelines by European Association of Science Editors (EASE), International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (Updated January 2024) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at any stage of manuscript preparation should be in alignment with the COPE guideline. Any use of AI tools to enhance the language and readability of the manuscript, generate images, or support data collection and analysis must be transparently disclosed at the end of the manuscript, including the name of the tool(s) used, its version and a brief explanation of how they were applied. Authors remain fully responsible for reviewing the final content to ensure its accuracy and integrity. New updates include guidance on the following topics:

1. AI Authorship:
   LL Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not currently meet our criteria for authorship. Authorship implies accountability for the work, a responsibility that cannot be assigned to LLMs and Chatbots. So, they can NOT be put as authors in the sent manuscripts. The journal observes the guidelines and practice released by ICMJE and WAME, to state that AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper. Any use of Chatbots or LLMs must be clearly documented in the Methods section of the manuscript or at the end of manuscript in the Acknowledgment section. Use of Chatbots or LLMs or other AI tools solely for AI-assisted copy editing may not be disclosed. In this context, AI-assisted copy editing refers to the use of AI to enhance human-written text for readability, style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone. These edits may include changes in wording and formatting but must not involve generative content creation or editorial decision-making. In all cases, a human must take responsibility for the final version of the text, and all authors must agree that the edits accurately reflect their original work.
2. Code of Responsible Use of AI Generated Images:
   The rapidly evolving field of generative AI for image creation presents new challenges related to copyright and research integrity. In this journal, we adhere strictly to current copyright laws and best practices in publication ethics. The journal does not permit AI generated images use in its publications. All exceptions must be disclosed and clearly labeled as AI-generated within the image field. Given the pace of development in this area, we will review and revise this policy regularly as needed.
3. AI Responsible Reviewers:
   Peer reviewers are essential to the integrity of scientific publishing. Their expert assessments and recommendations help editors make informed decisions and ensure that published research is valid, rigorous, and trustworthy. Reviewers are selected based on their subject matter expertise or familiarity with the methodologies involved and knowledge that is both critical and irreplaceable. Peer reviewers are responsible for the accuracy and content of their reports. The peer review process relies on a foundation of mutual trust among authors, reviewers, and editors. While generative AI tools are evolving rapidly, they still present significant limitations. These include outdated or inaccurate knowledge, and a tendency to produce biased, misleading, or nonsensical content. Moreover, manuscripts under review may contain sensitive or proprietary information that must remain confidential. For these reasons, we ask peer reviewers not to upload any part of a manuscript into generative AI tools. The journal is actively exploring ways to provide secure, responsible, accountable and ethical AI tools used to support peer review in the future.
4. AI Responsible Use by Editors:
   A submitted manuscript must be treated as a strictly confidential document. Editors must not upload the manuscript, or any portion of it, into generative AI tools, as doing so may compromise the confidentiality of the authors’ work and infringe upon their proprietary rights. In cases where personally identifiable information is present, such actions may also violate data privacy regulations. This confidentiality requirement extends to all communications related to the manuscript, including editorial decision letters and correspondence, which may contain sensitive information about the manuscript and/or its authors. As such, editors should refrain from using generative AI tools even for tasks like improving the language or readability of these communications. Editorial evaluation is a responsibility that currently rests solely with humans. Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies must not be used by editors to support the evaluation or decision-making processes, as these technologies are not capable of critical thinking, nuanced judgment, and contextual understanding that such tasks require. Moreover, there is a risk that AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased. Editors remain fully responsible and accountable for all editorial decisions and the communication of those decisions to authors. Editors should check for this disclosure, and if any misuse or violation of the AI policy is suspected, whether by an author or a reviewer, it must be reported to the journal.