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MANUSCRIPTS are received with the understanding that they are submitted solely to THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY®, that upon submission, they become the property of the Publisher, that the work has not been previously published, and that the data in the manuscripts have been reviewed by all authors, who agree with the analyses of the data and the conclusions reached in the manuscript. The publisher reserves copyright and renewal on all published material, and such material may not be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher. Statements in articles are the responsibility of the authors. The Journal does not accept original articles involving animal research.

As of May 1, 2005, all new manuscripts, including Readers' Comments and Errata, must be submitted through The American Journal of Cardiology online and review Web site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/ajc ). Authors are requested to submit the text, tables, and figures in electronic form to this address. The Publisher and Editors regret that they are not able to consider submissions that do not follow these procedures. Please include the corresponding author's phone and fax number. The cover letter should state precisely and concisely the significance and uniqueness of the work in the authors' view. The authors may state the extent of any concessions they are readily prepared to make (for example, the elimination of 1 or more figures or tables or a portion of the text) to increase the likelihood of publication of their work in the Journal. Several names and addresses should be provided of non-local experts who, in the authors' view, could provide objective and informed reviews of their work. The names of investigators considered unlikely by the authors to give nonbiased reviews of their work also may be submitted. This request is honored.

Please note that an editable file is needed for production purposes after acceptance, and we ask that you submit source files in the case your manuscript is accepted.

Study recent past issues of the Journal for format. Arrange the paper as follows: (1) title page, which should include the title, the full names and academic degrees of the authors, and current affiliations of all authors; (2) abstract; (3) text; (4) acknowledgement; (5) references; (6) figure legends; ; (7) tables; and (8) figures. Number the title page as 1, abstract page as 2 and so forth. Type double-spaced (including references) with at least 25-mm (1-inch) margins, sized for 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Place 2 returns after every element, such as title, headings, paragraphs, figure captions, etc. Files should be labeled with appropriate and descriptive file names. Upload text, tables and graphics as separate files. Do not import figures or tables into the text document. Complete instructions for electronic artwork submission can be found on the Author Gateway, accessible through the journal home page.

TITLE PAGE AND ABSTRACT: For the complete title page, include the full first or middle and last names of all authors. List the current affiliations of all authors and link author names and affiliations by "a," "b," "c," etc., after the author names and before the affiliation. Provide information about grant support if necessary, including the location (city/state/country). If work described is supported by a grant from a pharmaceutical company, that fact should be stated on the title page. Add at the bottom the phrase "Corresponding author:" telephone number, fax number, email address, and mailing address. Add a 2-to 6-word running head. Limit the abstract to 250 words. List 2 to 4 key words for subject indexing at the end of the abstract.

STYLE: Use appropriate major subheadings throughout the body of the text, such as Methods, Results, and Discussion. Tables, figures, and references must be cited in numerical order throughout the manuscript. Abbreviations are permitted, but usually no more than 5 per manuscript (at the Editor's discretion) , and then they must be used on every page of the manuscript after they are initially spelled out (followed by the abbreviation) in both abstract and introduction. Abbreviations are usually limited to terms in the manuscript's title. Use generic names of drugs. Do not spell out any number, including those less than 10, except when used for opening a sentence, but try not to begin sentences with a number. Use symbols for less than (<), greater than (>) and percent (%). Indent paragraphs except for the first one in both abstract and introduction. Consult the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine June 1982;96:766-771, and also the Stylebook/Editorial Manual of the AMA.

References: List all authors, year, volume, and inclusive pages for all journal references, and specific page numbers for all book references as shown below. Do not use periods after authors' initials or after abbreviations for titles of journals. Check Index Medicus or Annals of Internal Medicine (June 1982) as cited above for journal titles and abbreviations. Personal communications and unpublished observations do not constitute references, but may be mentioned within the text. Articles with incorrect reference formats will not be processed. Do not use "et al" - names of all authors must be included. All references must be typed out at the end of the article on a new page. Please do not use the footnote or endnote functions in your word processing program.

Journal: Harvey W, Herberden W, Withering W, Stokes W, Murrell W, Einthoven W, Osler W. Anomalies and curiosities of cardiology and cardiologists. Reflections of famous medical Williams. Am J Cardiol 1984;53:900-915.

Chapter in Book: Cabot RC, White PD, Taussig HB, Levine SA, Wood P, Friedberg CK, Nadas AS, Hurst JW, Braunwald E. How to write cardiology textbooks. In: Hope JA, ed. A Treatise on Disease of the Heart and Great Vessels. London: Yorke Medical Books, 1984:175-200.

Book: Carrel A, Cutler EC, Gross RE, Blalock A, Craffoord C, Brock RC, Bailey CP, DeBakey ME. The Closing of Holes, Replacing of Valves and Inserting of Pipes, or How Cardiovascular Surgeons Deal with Knives, Knaves and Knots. New York: Yorke University Press, 1984:903.

FIGURES: Number figures in order in which they are mentioned in the text. Type figure legends on a separate page, double spaced after the references. Clearly mark figures with a, b, c, top, bottom, right and left. Download each figure as a separate file (.tif or .eps formats are preferred, although .ppt, .xls, .pdf, and .doc files are accepted. .jpeg files are acceptable for the review process only. They are not acceptable for publication. Do not import figures into the text document. Complete instructions for electronic artwork submission can be found on the Author Gateway, accessible through the journal home page. Submit written permission from the publisher and author to reproduce any previously published figures. Limit figures to the number necessary to present the message clearly. Figure resolution must be a minimum of 300 dpi. Type figure legends on a separate page, double spaced after the references. Identify at the end of each legend and in alphabetical order all abbreviations in the figure. The cost of color reproduction must be paid by the author.

TABLES: Number each table in Arabic numerals (Table 1, 2, etc.) and title each table. Download each table as a separate file. Identify in alphabetical order at the bottom of the table all abbreviations used. When tabulating numbers of patients, use no more than 2 lines preferably only 1 line per patient. Use a plus sign (+) to indicate "positive" or "present" a zero (0) for "negative" or "absent" and a dash (-) for "no information available" or "not done." Do not use "yes", "no" or "none."

READERS' COMMENTS: The author who submits a "letter" should provide a cover letter to the Editor in Chief stating why the letter should be published. The letter (as well as references) should double-spaced, and limited, with few exceptions, to 2 pages. A title for the letter should be provided at the top of the page. At the end of the letter, the writer's full name and city and state (or country if outside the US) should be provided. The author's title and institution should not be included. A letter concerning a particular article in the Journal must be received (from authors within the US) within 2 months of the article's publication.

REPRINTS: Price schedules and order cards for reprints are mailed to the author upon publication of the article. Individual reprints must be obtained through the author.

PERMISSIONS: All inquiries regarding copyright material from this publication, other than reproduction through the Copyright Clearance Center, should be director to Elsevier Ltd., P.O. Box, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK. Tel: (+44)1865 843830; Fax (+44)1865 853333; E-mail: permissions@elsevier.co.uk.



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