Guide for Authors
The
Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) publishes peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of cardiovascular
disease, including original clinical studies, experimental investigations with clear clinical relevance, state-of-the-art papers, and
viewpoints. In general, case reports will not be considered for publication.
We request that all manuscripts be submitted online
at 
www.jaccsubmit.org.
Manuscript submissions should conform to
the guidelines set forth in the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical
Publication," available from
http://www.ICMJE.org and most recently updated in April 2010.
English language
help service:
Upon request, Elsevier will direct authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before
submission). Please contact
authorsupport@elsevier.com for further information.
AUTHOR ENQUIRIES
For enquiries
relating to the submission of articles or to articles currently being reviewed, please contact the
Journal's editorial office
at
jaccsd@acc.org. For information on articles that have been accepted for publication, please visit
www.elsevier.com/authors. Elsevier's Authors Home also provides the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when
an article's status has changed, as well as detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions, and more.
Authors can order copies of the issue in which their article appears at a discounted rate; please contact Elsevier Health Sciences Division,
Subscription Customer Service, 3251 Riverport Lane, Maryland Heights, MO 63043, Tel: 1-800-654-2452; E-mail:
journalscustomerservice-usa@elsevier.com.
EXCLUSIVE SUBMISSION/PUBLICATION POLICY
The manuscripts are considered for review only under the conditions that they
are not under consideration elsewhere and that the data presented have not appeared on the internet or have not been previously published
(including symposia, proceedings, transactions, books, articles published by invitation, and preliminary publications of any kind except
abstracts not exceeding 400 words). On acceptance, transfer of copyright to the American College of Cardiology Foundation will be required.
Elsevier Inc. will maintain copyright records for the College.
RELATIONSHIP WITH INDUSTRY POLICY
The Editors require
authors to disclose any relationship with industry and financial associations from within the past 2 years that might pose a conflict
of interest in connection with the submitted article in both the cover letter and on the title page. All sources of funding for the work
should be acknowledged on the title page, as should all institutional affiliations of the authors (including corporate appointments).
Other associations, such as consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interests or patent-licensing arrangements, should be disclosed
to the Editors in the cover letter at the time of submission. If no relationship with industry exists, please state this in the cover
letter and on the title page. Relationship with industry guidelines apply to authors of all the following: Original Research Papers,
State-of-the-Art Papers, Expedited Publications, Editorials and Viewpoints, Editorial Comments.
ALL FORMS ARE NOW SIGNED AND SUBMITTED
ELECTRONICALLY. Once a manuscript is accepted, the authors will
be sent links to complete electronic Copyright Transfer and Relationship
with Industry forms. Only the corresponding author may electronically
sign the copyright form; however, ALL AUTHORS ARE
REQUIRED TO ELECTRONICALLY
SIGN A RELATIONSHIP
WITH INDUSTRY FORM. Once completed, a PDF version of the
form is e-mailed to the author. Authors can access and confirm
receipt of
forms by logging into their account online. Each author will be alerted if
his form has not been completed by the deadline.
Only authors appearing on the final title page will be sent a form.YOU
CANNOT ADD AUTHORS AFTER ACCEPTANCE OR ON
PROOFS. After a paper
is sent to the publisher, the links to the electronic
forms will no longer be active. In this case, authors will be sent links to
download
hard copy forms that they may mail or fax to the
JACC office.
PERMISSIONS
No part of materials published in
JACC
may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Some materials qualify for gratis usage. See STM Guidelines for details:
http://www.stm-assoc.org/permissions-guidelines. Permission may be sought directly from Elsevier's Global Rights Department.
Phone: 215-239-3804 or 44-1865-843-830. Fax: 44-1865-853-333. E-mail:
healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also
be completed online via the Elsevier home page (
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions).
ETHICS
Studies should
be in compliance with human studies committees and animal welfare regulations of the authors' institutions and Food and Drug Administration
guidelines.
Human studies must be performed with the subjects' written informed consent. Authors must provide the details of this
procedure and indicate that the institutional committee on human research has approved thestudy protocol. If radiation is used in a research
procedure, the radiation exposure must be specified in the Methods.
Studies on patients or volunteers require ethics committee approval
and informed consent which should be documented in your paper. Patients have a right to privacy. Therefore identifying information,
including patients' images, names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be included in videos, recordings, written descriptions,
photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and you have obtained written informed consent
for publication in print and electronic form from the patient (or parent, guardian or next of kin where applicable). If such consent
is made subject to any conditions, the editorial office must be made aware of all such conditions.
Written consents must be provided
to the editorial office on request. Even where consent has been given, identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential.
If identifying characteristics are altered
to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that
alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. If such consent has not been obtained, personal details of
patients included in any part of the paper and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed
before submission.
Animal investigation must conform to the "Position of the American Heart Association on Research Animal Use,"
adopted by the AHA on November 11, 1984. If equivalent guidelines are used, they should be indicated. The AHA position includes: 1) animal
care and use by qualified individuals, supervised by veterinarians, and all facilities and transportation must comply with current legal
requirements and guidelines; 2) research involving animals should be done only when alternative methods to yield needed information are
not possible; 3) anesthesia must be used in all surgical interventions, all unnecessary suffering should be avoided and research must
be terminated if unnecessary pain or fear results; and 4) animal facilities must meet the standards of the American Association for Accreditation
of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC).
AUTHORSHIP/COVER LETTER
Each author must have contributed significantly to the submitted
work. If there are more than 4 authors, the contribution of each must be substantiated in the cover letter. If authorship is attributed
to a group (either solely or in addition to 1 or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements
for authorship. To save space, if group members have been listed in
JACC, the article should be referenced rather than reprinting
the list. The Editors consider authorship to include all of the following: 1) conception and design or analysis and interpretation of
data, or both; 2) drafting of the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the
manuscript submitted. Participation solely in the collection of data does not justify authorship but may be appropriately acknowledged
in the Acknowledgment section.
Manuscripts must be submitted with a cover letter stating that: 1) the paper is not under consideration
elsewhere; 2) none of the paper's contents have been previously published; 3) all authors have read and approved the manuscript; and
4) the full disclosure of any relationship with industry (see "Relationship with Industry Policy"). Exceptions must be explained.
The corresponding author should be specified in the cover letter. All editorial communications will be sent to this author. The corresponding
author will be whom we contact for submission queries.
A short paragraph telling the editors why the authors think their paper merits
publication priority may be included in the cover letter. Potential reviewers may be suggested in the cover letter, as well as reviewers
to avoid.
iPAD ENHANCEMENTS
To enhance your article's presentation on the JACC iPad edition of the
Journal, we
request that the first (or co-first if that is the case) and senior
authors on the paper send a photo of themselves formatted as a jpeg
of any
size and a brief (100 word) biography. Mail these materials to the general
mailbox (
jaccsd@acc.org) after your
paper has been accepted. Please
include the JACC manuscript number in the subject line along with the
words "photo" and "bio." Inform
the editorial office if you have already
sent us your photograph and biography for a previously accepted paper, as
we should have them
on file.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS
Because of the printed page limitations, the Editors
require that manuscripts not exceed 4,500 words (including references and figure legends). Note that if you are asked to revise your
paper an alternate word limit may be specified by the Editors. Illustrations and tables should be limited to those necessary to highlight
key data. Please provide gender-specific data, when appropriate, in describing outcomes of epidemiologic analyses or clinical trials;
or specifically state that no gender-based differences were present.
For original research dealing with genetic associations authors
should read "Taking Cardiovascular Genetic Association Studies to the Next Level" by G. Ginsburg et al. which they can access
by clicking here.
The manuscript should be arranged as follows: 1) title page; 2) structured abstract and key
words; 3) abbreviations list; 4) text; 5) acknowledgments (if applicable); 6) references; 7) figure titles and legends; and 8) tables.
Page numbering should begin with the title page.
OTHER PAPER CATEGORIES
The following information should be noted for
these paper types:
State-of-the-Art Papers.
The Editors will consider both invited and uninvited review articles.
Such manuscripts must adhere to preferred length guidelines and require an unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words. Authors should
detail in their cover letters how their submission differs from existing reviews on the subject.
Expedited Publications.
Manuscripts in this category should report important original findings of high-potential clinical impact or research significance. They
can be either a full-length paper or a short report presenting early findings. Authors must apply for expedited publication consideration
in their cover letter at the time of submission. The Editors commit to a decision regarding suitability for expedited publication processing
within 5 days, and an initial decision within 14 days. Those manuscripts not deemed appropriate for the expedited publication track will
be eligible for consideration according to the standard review process. Print publication of an expedited publication will be accomplished
within 6 weeks of receiving the approved galley proofs. Online publication will occur within 10 days of receiving the approved galley
prints.
Editorials and Viewpoints.
Succinct opinion pieces will also be considered. These papers should have a brief
unstructured abstract.
Editorial Comments.
The editors invite all Editorial Comments published in the Journal.
Letters to the Editor.
A limited number of letters will be published. They should not exceed 500 words and should focus
on a specific article that has appeared in
JACC. Letters must be submitted within 3 weeks of the print issue date of the article.
No original data may be included. Type letters double-spaced and include the cited article as a reference. Provide a title page that
includes authors' names and institutional affiliations and a complete address for correspondence. These can be submitted online at
www.jaccsubmit.org. Replies will generally be solicited by the Editors.
Research Correspondence.
Research Correspondence
papers are original
research articles of a focused nature. These papers are limited to a
total of 1,000 words including references (no
more than 5), and to one
figure or table. These papers do not need an abstract.
Images in Cardiology
The editors
will consider original, high quality images showing novel or "classic" findings for publication, subject to editing and revision. The
image(s) should not contain any material published elsewhere. Motion studies (i.e., videos) are encouraged. All submissions should be
accompanied by a cover letter as well as a concise description of no more then 150 words including the title page and references. Please
see the Video Requirements section elsewhere in the Instructions for Authors for details on video specifications. At the discretion
of the Editors, images may appear in either the print or electronic version of
JACC or both.
MANUSCRIPT CONTENT
TITLE PAGE
Include the title, authors' names (including full first name and middle initial and degrees), total word count, and
a brief title of no more than 45 characters. List the departments and institutions with which the authors are affiliated, and indicate
the specific affiliations if the work is generated from more than one institution (use the footnote symbols given under "Tables"). Also
provide information on grants, contracts, and other forms of financial support, and list the cities and states of all foundations, funds
and institutions involved in the work. Include any relationship with industry (see "Relationship with Industry Policy"). If there are
no relationships with industry, this should be stated. Under the heading, "Address for correspondence," give the full name and complete
postal address of the author to whom communications, printer's proofs, and reprint requests should be sent. Also provide telephone and
fax numbers and an e-mail address.
STRUCTURED ABSTRACT
Provide a structured abstract of no more than 250 words, presenting
essential data in 5 paragraphs introduced by separate headings in the following order: Objectives, Background, Methods, Results, and
Conclusions. Use complete sentences.
All data in the abstract must also appear in the manuscript text or tables. For general
information on preparing structured abstracts, see "Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts
revisited. Ann Intern Med 1990;113:69-76." A nonstructured abstract is appropriate for review articles.
TEXT
The text
should be structured as Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Use headings and subheadings in the Methods, Results, and, particularly,
Discussion sections. Every reference, figure and table should be cited in the text in numerical order according to order of mention.
To save space in the Journal, up to 10 abbreviations of common terms (e.g., ECG, PTCA, CABG) or acronyms (GUSTO, SOLVD, TIMI) may
be used throughout the manuscript. On a separate page following the abstract, list the selected abbreviations and their definitions (e.g.,
TEE = transesophageal echocardiography). The Editors will determine which lesser known terms should not be abbreviated. Consult ''Uniform
Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication,'' available from
http://www.ICMJE.org
and most recently updated in April 2010, for appropriate use of units of measure.
STATISTICS
All publishable manuscripts
will be reviewed for appropriateness and accuracy of statistical methods and statistical interpretation of results. We subscribe to the
statistics section of the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical
Publication," available from
http://www.ICMJE.org and most recently updated in April 2010. In the Methods section, provide
a subsection detailing the statistical methods, including specific methods used to summarize the data, methods used for hypothesis testing
(if any), and the level of significance used for hypothesis testing. When using more sophisticated statistical methods (beyond
t
tests, chi-square, simple linear regression), specify the statistical package, version number, and nondefault options used. For more
information on statistical review, see "Glantz SA. It is all in the numbers. J Am Coll Cardiol 1993;21:835-7."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments or appendices must contain 100 words or less. Anything exceeding this limit will appear in the online version only. Letters
of permission from all individuals listed in the acknowledgments are the responsibility of the corresponding author.
REFERENCES
Identify references in the text by arabic numerals in parentheses on the line. The reference list should be typed double-spaced on pages
separate from the text; references must be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.
Do not
cite personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, or other unpublished data in the references; these may be cited in the
text in parentheses.
Do not cite abstracts that are older than 2 years. Identify abstracts by the abbreviation "abstr" in parentheses.
If letters to the editor are cited, identify them with the word "letter" in parentheses.
Use
Index Medicus (National Library
of Medicine) abbreviations for journal titles. It is important to note that when citing an article from the
Journal of the American
College of Cardiology, the correct citation format is J Am Coll Cardiol.
Use the following style and punctuation for references:
Periodical
List all authors if 6 or fewer, otherwise list the first 3 and add et al.; do not use periods after the
authors' initials. Please do provide inclusive page numbers as in example below.
- 5. Glantz SA. It is all in the numbers. J Am
Coll Cardiol 1993; 21:835-7.
Doi-based citation for an article in press
If the ahead-of-print date
is known,, provide as in example below.
- 16. Winchester D, Wen X, Xie L, et al. Evidence for pre-procedural statin
therapy:
meta-analysis of randomized trials. J Am Coll Cardiol 2010
Sept 28 [E-pub ahead of print], doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.09.028.
If the ahead-of-print date is unknown,, omit as in example below.
- 16. Winchester D, Wen X, Xie L, et al. Evidence for pre-procedural
statin
therapy: meta-analysis of randomized trials. J Am Coll Cardiol 2010
[E-pub ahead of print], doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.09.028.
Chapter in book
Provide authors, chapter title, editor(s), book title, publisher location, publisher name, year,
and inclusive page numbers.
- 27. Meidell RS, Gerard RD, Sambrook JF. Molecular biology of thrombolytic agents. In: Roberts R,
editor. Molecular Basis of Cardiology. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1993:295-324.
Book (personal
author or authors)
Provide a specific (not inclusive) page number.
- 23. Cohn PF. Silent Myocardial Ischemia and
Infarction. 3rd edition. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, 1993:33.
Online media
Provide specific URL address
and date information was accessed.
- 10. Henkel J. Testicular Cancer: Survival High With Early Treatment. FDA Consumer magazine
[serial online]. January-February 1996. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/196_test.html . Accessed August 31,
1998.
Material presented at a meeting but not published
Provide authors, presentation title, full meeting
title, meeting dates, and meeting location.
- 20. Eisenberg J. Market forces and physician workforce reform: why they may not
work. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the Association of Medical Colleges; October 28, 1995; Washington, DC.
FIGURE
LEGENDS
Figure legends should be typed double-spaced on pages separate from the text; figure numbers must correspond with the
order in which they are mentioned in the text.
ALL FIGURES MUST HAVE A TITLE AND CAPTION. The title
should be short and followed
by a 2 to 3 sentence caption. For example,
Figure 1: Title - Caption, etc.
All abbreviations used in the
All abbreviations used in
the figure should be identified either after their first mention in the legend or in alphabetical order at the end of each legend. All
symbols used (arrows, circles, etc.) must be explained.
If previously published figures are used, written permission from the original
publisher is required. See STM Guidelines for details:
http://www.stm-assoc.org/permissions-guidelines. Cite the source
of the figure in the legend.
FIGURES
Figures and graphs submitted in electronic format should be provided in EPS or TIF
format. Graphics software such as Photoshop and Illustrator, NOT presentation software such as Powerpoint, CorelDraw, or Harvard Graphics,
should be used to create the art. Color images must be at least 300 DPI. Gray scale images should be at least 300 DPI. Line art (black
and white or color) and combinations of gray scale images and line art should be at least 1200 DPI. Lettering should be of sufficient
size to be legible after reduction for publication. The optimal size is 12 points. Symbols should be of a similar size. Figures should
be no smaller than 13 cm x 18 cm (5"x7"). Please do not reduce figures to fit publication layout. If the manuscript is accepted for publication,
the publisher will re-size the figures accordingly.
THERE IS NO FEE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF COLOR FIGURES. Our editors encourage
authors to submit figures in color, as we feel it improves the clarity and visual impact of the images. If your original submission contains
any line art or black and white figures that you would like to change to color, please mail two sets of high quality, glossy prints of
all color figures to the
JACC editorial office during the revision process. Be sure to include correspondence, with the manuscript
number, explaining the change.
Decimals, lines, and other details must be strong enough for reproduction.
Use only black and
white - not gray - in charts and graphs. Place crop marks on photomicrographs to show only the essential field. Designate special
features with arrows. All symbols, arrows, and lettering on half-tone illustrations must contrast with the background.
Upon provisional
acceptance, we may request 2 sets of glossy or laser prints (clean copies will suffice). Two sets of glossy prints should be provided
for all half-tone or color illustrations. All graphs and line drawings must be professionally prepared on a computer and reproduced as
high quality laser prints. Indicate the first author's last name (and the corresponding author's last name within parentheses, if different)
and the figure number on the back of each figure, preferably on an adhesive label. Figure title and caption material must appear in the
legend, not on the figure.
Note: if we request hardcopies, they will not be returned to authors.
TABLES
Tables
should be typed double-spaced on separate sheets, with the table number and title centered above the table and explanatory notes below
the table. Use arabic numbers. Table numbers must correspond with the order cited in the text.
ALL TABLES MUST HAVE A TITLE.
Abbreviations should be listed in a footnote under the table in alphabetical order. Footnote symbols should appear in the following order: *,†, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††, etc.
Tables should be self-explanatory, and
the data presented in them should not be duplicated in the text or figures. If previously published tables are used, written permission
from the original publisher and author is required. Cite the source of the table in the footnote.
VIDEO REQUIREMENTS
Inclusion
of videos in the published paper is at the discretion of the Editors.
- Video submissions for viewing online should be one of
the following formats: Audio Video Interleave (.avi), MPEG (.mpg), or Quick Time (.qt, .mov).
AVI files can be displayed via Windows
Media Player
MPEG files can be displayed via Windows Media Player
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/players.aspx
Quick Time files require Quick Time software (free)
from Apple
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/index.html
- Videos should be brief whenever possible
(<2-5 min). Longer videos will require longer download times and may have difficulty playing online. Videos should be restricted to
the most critical aspects of your research. A longer procedure can be restructured as several shorter videos and submitted in that form.
- It is advisable to compress files to use as little bandwidth as possible and to avoid overly long download times. Video files
should be no larger than 5 megabytes. This is a suggested maximum. If files are larger please contact the JACC office.
- A video
legends page giving a brief description of the video content should be provided for each video.
- If your paper is accepted
for publication you may wish to supply the editorial office with several different resolutions of your video files. This will allow viewers
with slower connections to download a lower resolution version of your video.
Please do not send hard copy manuscript
submissions. If the manuscript absolutely cannot be submitted online, mail a disk containing all files to: Anthony N. DeMaria, MD, MACC,
Editor-in-Chief,
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 3655 Nobel Drive, Suite 630, San Diego, CA 92122. Tel: [+1]
[858] 558-3411; Fax: [+1] [858] 558-3148. This disk must include files for the cover letter, manuscript, tables, and figures. If supplementary
materials such as "in press" references are included, these files must also be on the disk.
It is important to note that when citing
an article from the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the correct citation format is J Am Coll Cardiol.
August
2011
