To submit an article online, and to check the status of your submission, you need to have an account with Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal
Don't have an account? Register Here.
Start SubmissionArticle 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.
All authors must meet all four of the International Committee of Journal Editors guidelines for authorship:
Museum images should depict novel imaging scans with a contextual description of the case. These should contain between 100 to 300 words and 1-3 images (may include videos). Abstracts are unnecessary.
Points to Remember articles are intended to highlight important “need to know” facts about any condition that cardiovascular healthcare professionals may encounter. These can come from any medical specialty (eg, nephrology, neurology, etc.) The main text should begin with a brief introduction and include around 10 bulleted key points. Manuscripts should range from 500-800 words, not including references. Please include a brief biography of the author stating education and current position.
Editorials (commentaries, letters to the editor) should reflect on or critique a specific "happening," such as a release of a major study or other notable occurrence related to cardiovascular disease, or comment on a previously published article (Letter to the Editor). Authors interested in submitting a commentary piece should discuss the content with the Journal editorial staff (mdcvj@houstonmethodist.org) before submitting a manuscript. Commentary articles should contain between 900 and 1,200 words and may include 1 figure/table.
Poetry can include any original poem from a healthcare professional. Submissions should be no longer than 1000 words and include a short introduction/explanation of the content and the author's name, position, affiliation, and city/state. Submit as part of the HUMANITIES section.
Art submissions can be any type of print-ready media (eg., drawings, computer-generated art, mixed media, photography, paintings) created by a healthcare professional or student. If your art has been published previously, you must provide proof of permission to reprint. Please include a Word document with the title and a a short introduction/explanation of the content and the author's name, position, affiliation, and city/state. Submit as part of the HUMANITIES section.
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:
Title page
Please provide the following on the title page:
Abstract
The main text should be prefaced by an unstructured abstract that contains the following:
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.
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.
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.
Headings within the main text:
Spelling
Submissions must be made in English, using American spelling.
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.
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.)
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
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
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.).
Each figure must have a title and accompanying caption that clearly and concisely describes the content.
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).
Tables should not include:
NOTE: If there are more columns than can fit on a single page, then the table will be placed horizontally on the page. If it still can't fit horizontally on a page, the table will be broken into two.
Multimedia Preparation
Movies: Accepted file type is mov or MP4. Required encoding setting is H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (for online publishing). The maximum width is 700 pixels.
References should follow the NLM citation style. Click here to link to the NLM guide, Citing Medicine:
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.
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 Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal does not charge publication fees. The Journal is supported financially by Houston Methodist.
The Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal does not charge publication fees. The Journal is supported financially by Houston Methodist.