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Author Guidelines

Article types | Structure | Permissions |Language & text | Data & Symbols | Figures & Tables | References

Submissions should be made electronically through this website. Once submitted, the author can track the submission and communicate with the editors via the online journal management system.

Please ensure that you adhere to the following guidelines when preparing your manuscript. Failure to do so may delay processing your submission.

Article Accountability 

All authors must meet all four of the International Committee of Journal Editors guidelines for authorship:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Article types

• Invited reviews are assigned by the guest editors of each issue and cover topics related to the theme of that particular issue. Manuscripts should critically engage with the relevant body of current literature. Parameters of review articles should contain: 2,000-3,500 words; 3-7 figures/tables (may include videos); ≤ 80 references.

Structure

The names of all authors, affiliations, contact details, biography (optional) and the corresponding author details must be completed online as part of the submission process.

All articles should be prepared in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition.
For optimal readability, manuscripts should include a title page, abstract, introduction with background, results, and a conclusion (excluding editorials, unless needed). Submit all manuscripts in the following format:

• Microsoft Word in 12-point Times Roman or Arial font. Please do not send in PDF format
• Normal sentence case (do not submit manuscript in all capital letters)
• Double-space text
• Number all pages consecutively
• Include 3 to 10 key words for indexing

Title page
Please provide the following on the title page:

• Title of the submission
• Full names of all authors (may include initial for middle name), their highest level of academic degree (ie, MD, PhD, MBA), the name, city, and state of their respective institutions. If the author has two doctorate degrees, both may be listed.
• Include the name, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address for the corresponding author. The email address will be published. We will mail two copies of the journal (if manuscript is in the print edition) to the corresponding author.
• Include the contact information for the corresponding author’s assistant, if applicable. This is for manuscript-related correspondence only and will not be published.

Abstract
The main text should be prefaced by an unstructured abstract that contains the following: 

• An accurate reflection of context or background
• A statement of purpose
• Primary findings
• Principal conclusions (emphasize new and/or important aspects)

Main text

The body of the submission should be structured in a logical and easy to follow manner. A clear introduction section should provide non-specialists in the subject an understanding of the background and the issue(s) pertaining to the subject. Methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections may then follow, in a heading format, to clearly detail the information and research presented.

Up to three level headings may be used and must be clearly identifiable, using all capitals for main headings, bold initial caps for sub headings, and bold italicized font for 3rd-level headings.

Conclusion

Please write a brief conclusion summarizing the main idea(s) of the article. Do not add new information in the conclusion.

Key Points (review articles only)

All review articles should end with 3 to 6 bulleted key points highlighting the most important take-away messages from the manuscript.

Museum Images Format

Please note that imaging submissions follow a different manuscript format. We look for 1-3 images and/or video clips that are strong enough to speak for themselves. We must have at least 1 still image for the print version. Images should be unique and high-quality and accompanied by a brief (100-300 word) description of the clinical scenario. Abstract, case discussion, and references are not necessary.

Acknowledgements (optional)

Any acknowledgements must be headed and in a separate paragraph, placed after the main text but before the reference list.

Competing interests
If any of the authors have any competing interests, these must be declared. A short paragraph should be placed before the references. Guidelines for competing interests can be found here. If there are no competing interests to declare then the following statement should be present: The author(s) has/have no competing interests to declare.

References

All references cited within the submission must be listed at the end of the main text file. See References section below for specific formatting.

Permissions

Please indicate whether your images are your own original creation or if they were taken or adapted from a prior publication. Any images that were previously published (even your own) must have written confirmation of permission from the original publisher. Include permission copy in the caption if using data from another published or unpublished source, even if it is your own previously published work. Written permission from the copyright holder should be included with all submissions. Please note that images from Open Access publications may still require an author to obtain permission for reuse.

Language & Text

Capitalization
For the submission title:

Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and subordinate conjunctions (i.e. as, because, although). Use lowercase for all articles, coordinate conjunctions and prepositions.

• Slip-Sliding on a Yellow Brick Road: Stabilization Efforts in Afghanistan

Headings within the main text:

• First level headings in the text should follow the same rule as the main title.
• For lower-level subheadings, only capitalise first letter and proper nouns.
• Headings should be under 75 characters.

Spelling
Submissions must be made in English, using American spelling.

• When referring to proper nouns and normal institutional titles, the official, original spelling must be used.
• Ex: World Health Organization, not World Health Organisation

Grammar
All articles should be prepared in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition. Serial commas should be used in listings. 

Font

The font should be Times Roman or Ariel, 12 point throughout.

Do not use underlined text.

Bold or italicized text to emphasize a point is permitted but should be restricted to minimal occurrences to maximize their impact.

Lists
Use bullet points to denote a list without hierarchy or order of value. If the list indicates a specific sequence then a numbered list must be used.

Lists should be used sparingly to maximize their impact.

Quotation marks

Use double quotation marks in quotes.

• Quotations that are longer than three lines in length must be in an indented paragraph separate from the main text.

The standard, non-italicized font must be used for all quotes. All quotes must include a reference citing the source.

• If quoting from material that is under copyright, then permission will need to be obtained from the copyright holder.

Acronyms & Abbreviations

With abbreviations, the crucial goal is to ensure that the reader - particularly one who may not be fully familiar with the topic or context being addressed - is able to follow along. Spell out all acronyms on first use (indicating the acronym in parentheses) and use the acronym thereafter. (e.g. Research completed by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows...) 

Abbreviations should usually be in capital letters without periods (USA, not U.S.A.)

• Common examples from Latin origin do not follow this rule and should be lower case (etc.)

Data & Symbols

Symbols
Symbols are permitted within the main text as long as they are commonly used or have explanatory definition on their first usage.

Hyphenation, em and en dashes

Em dashes should be used sparingly. If they are present, they should denote emphasis, change of thought or interruption to the main sentence and can replace commas, parentheses, colons or semicolons. (eg, The president’s niece—daughter of his younger brother—caused a media scandal when…)

In tables and parenthetical comments, En dashes can be used to replace "to" when indicating a range. No space should surround the dash. (eg, 10-25 years, pp. 10-65)

Follow AMA guidelines for hyphenation of prefixes. Common prefixes such as non-, post-, anti-, co-, etc., do not require hyphenation UNLESS

• They are paired with an acronym (eg, post-WWII)
• They are paired with a proper noun (eg, non-Darwinian)
• They are paired with a word that starts with the same letter as the end of the prefix (eg, cardio-oncology)
• Not using the hyphen creates a word with a different meaning (eg, re-treat vs retreat)

Numbers

For numbers zero to nine spell out whole words. Please use figures for numbers 10 or higher.
Use words to represent large whole figures (i.e. one million). Exceptions: use numbers when indicating time, temperature, currency, and values (ie, 30 ml/hr)

If the sentence includes a series of numbers, then figures should be used in each instance. (eg, Artefacts were found at depths of 5, 9, and 29 cm.)

If a sentence starts with a number, it must be spelled out, or the sentence should be re-written so that it no longer starts with the number. (eg, Fifteen examples were found… OR the results showed 15 examples…)

Do not use a comma for a decimal place. (eg, 2.43 NOT 2,43)

Numbers that are less than zero must have a “‘0’” preceding the decimal point. (eg, 0.24 NOT .24)

Units of measurement
Symbols following a figure to denote a unit of measurement must be taken from the latest SI symbols. See http://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si_brochure_8_en.pdf for the full brochure.

Formula
Formulae must be proofed carefully by the author. Editors will not edit formulae. If special software has been used to create formulae, the way it is laid out is the way they will appear in the publication.

Figures & Tables

Figures

Submit all images (photos and figures) as high-resolution JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, or EPS files. For line drawings, please provide the original vector file (eg, .ai or .eps).

All figures should be uploaded as separate image files, but please embed copies in at the end of the manuscript as well to make peer review easier.

Image files should be a minimum of 300 dpi for simple black and white; we prefer at least 600 dpi for color images or images with writing. The higher the resolution, the better the image will appear in the journal.

Figures, including graphs and diagrams, must be professionally and clearly presented. If a figure is not easy to understand or does not appear to be of a suitable quality, the editor may ask to re-render or omit it. All figures must be cited within the main text in consecutive order using Arabic numerals (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.).

• Lettering: Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in each label. Do not end labels with periods.
• If your figure file includes text, then please present the font as Ariel, Helvetica, or Verdana. This will mean that it matches the typeset text.
• Units: Use SI notation with a single space between the number and unit. Define unusual units in the caption.
• Captions: Do not include the caption or figure name in the image. Instead, write captions at the end of the manuscript. Please define any acronyms or unusual units at the end of the caption.
• All figures should be mentioned in the manuscript and should match the figures provided by the author.
• Figure parts should be named consistently in the figure and text (A vs a, left vs right, etc.).
• Please use uppercase letters to denote panels (ie, Figure 1 A).
• File name: Name the file with the corresponding author name and figure number (eg, Smith_ -Fig 1A). There should be a separate caption for each figure.

Each figure must have a title and accompanying caption that clearly and concisely describes the content.

• Figure 1: 1685 map of London. Note the addition of St Paul’s Cathedral, absent from earlier maps.

Figure titles and legends should be placed at the end of the text, just before the list of references.

The source of the image should be included, along with any relevant copyright information and a statement of authorization (if required by the copyright holder).

Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates based on 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) . thresholds. Reproduced with permission of the © Elsevier Science & Technology Journals.

Tables

Tables must be created using a word processor's table function, not tabbed text, and they must be in an editable format such as Word (no PDF files). 

• Content: Include original values, numbers, and a key with all charts, and identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation or standard error of the mean. All nonstandard abbreviations should be addressed in footnotes.
• Format: Tables and charts should have flush-left copy with no bullets or formatting. They can be included at the end of the manuscript.
• All tables must be cited within the main text, numbered with Arabic numerals in consecutive order (eg, Table 1, Table 2, etc.)
• Captions: Each table should have a descriptive title that clearly summarizes the content. A short additional legend is optional to offer a further description of the table. The table title and legend should be placed above the table. The title should not be listed within the actual table.
• Table captions should be listed at the end of the manuscript (with figure captions), just before the reference list. Please define any acronyms or unusual units at the end of the caption.

References

References should follow the NLM citation style. Click here to link to the NLM guide, Citing Medicine: 

• Do not use Word’s footnote function to link references to create endnotes.
• Author names should be listed as last name and first name initial(s) with a comma separating each name (ie, Reardon MR, Lumsden AB, Loebe M, et al.).
• List up to the first six names if there are no more than six authors.
• Exception: If there are more than six authors, list the first three authors followed by “et al.”)
• Include year/month/date, volume/issue number, starting and ending pages, and DOI number.
• Do not include URLs in parenthetical citations. Instead, cite all details, including the URL, in the reference list.
• Do not apply style to citations: No italic, No bold, No underline, No quotes around titles.
• Titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus.

Abhayaratna WP, Seward JB, Appleton CP, et al. Left atrial size: physiologic determinants and clinical applications. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Jun 20;47(12):2357-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2006.02.048. 

Review articles should contain no more than 80 references. List all references in numerical order within the main body copy—starting at reference one—and list in the same order under the “References” section at the end of the article. All references should be superscripted at the end of the sentence in which the reference appears, after the ending punctuation. For example, the number at the end of this sentence is a superscripted reference

NOTE: If a reference is used several times within the manuscript, only list it once in the end reference list and refer to that number within the body copy.
NOTE: DOIs should be included for all reference entries, where possible.

 

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.

1. The submission has not been previously published, in part or in whole, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. All third-party-owned materials used have been identified with appropriate credit lines, and permission has been obtained from the copyright holder for all formats of the journal. Authors acknowledge their responsibility to gain all permissions prior to submission.
3. All authors qualify as authors, as defined in the authorship guidelines, and have given permission to be listed on the submitted paper.
4. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines. Every effort has been made to ensure that the submission is ready for peer review according to the journal's review policy.
5. Tables are all cited in the main text and are included within the text document.
6. Figures and videos are all cited in the main text and are uploaded as supplementary files. Figures/images have a resolution of at least 150dpi (300dpi or above preferred). The files are in one of the following formats: JPG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, EPS, MOV, MP3, MP4 (to maximise quality, the original source file is preferred).
7. All patients included within case reports or other article types in which an individual or a group of individuals can be identified have signed informed consent forms, or had had their legal guardian do so, giving permission to publish the submitted content under a CC-BY licence.
8. The corresponding author is submitting an ORCID identifier in their author data and co-authors have been recommended to also provide an ORCID, as per the journal policy.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

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. The full privacy policy can be viewed here.

Publication Fees

The Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal does not charge publication fees. The Journal is supported financially by Houston Methodist.

Waiver Information

The Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal does not charge publication fees. The Journal is supported financially by Houston Methodist.