JOURNAL OF
CARDIAC FAILURE
Instructions to Authors
Editorial Policies
The Journal of Cardiac Failure publishes peer-reviewed
manuscripts of interest to clinicians and researchers in
the field of heart failure and related disciplines. These
include original communications of scientific impor-
tance and review articles involving clinical research,
health services and outcomes research, animal studies,
and bench research with potential clinical applications to
heart failure. The Journal also publishes manuscripts that
report the design of ongoing clinical trials and editorial
perspectives that comment on new developments perti-
nent to the field of heart failure or manuscripts published
in other journals.
Published research must be in compliance with human
studies guidelines and animal welfare regulations.
Authors should indicate in the manuscript that human
subjects have given informed consent and that the institu-
tional committee on human research has approved the
study protocol. Similarly, they should indicate that stud-
ies involving experimental animals conform to institu-
tional standards.
Manuscripts
The Journal of Cardiac Failure uses an online, electronic
submission system. By accessing the website http://ees.
elsevier.com/cardfail authors will be guided stepwise
through the creation and uploading of the various files.
When submitting a manuscript to the Elsevier Editorial
System, authors need to provide an electronic version of
their manuscript. For this purpose original source files,
not PDF files, are preferred. The author should specify a
category designation for the manuscript (original investi-
gation, review article, brief communication, etc.) and
choose a set of classifications from the prescribed list
provided online. Authors may send queries concerning
the submission process, manuscript status, or journal
procedures to the
Editorial Office. Once the submission
files are uploaded, the system automatically generates
an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for re-
viewing. All correspondence, including the Editor’s deci-
sion and request for revisions, will be by e-mail.
Original works will be accepted with the understanding
that they are contributed solely to the Journal of Cardiac
Failure, are not under review by another publication, and
have not previously been published except in abstract
form. Accepted manuscripts become the sole property of
the journal and may not be published elsewhere without
the consent of the Journal of Cardiac Failure. A form
stating that the authors transfer all copyright ownership
to the journal will be sent from the publisher when the
manuscript is accepted; this form must be signed by all
authors of the article.
Submission Form
The submission form includes three statements: (1) that
there has been no duplicate publication or submission
elsewhere of any part of the work (excluding abstracts),
(2) that all authors have read and approved the manu-
script, and (3) that there are no financial or other relations
that could lead to a conflict of interest. This form must
be downloaded, signed by all authors, and faxed to the
editorial office.
If a potential conflict exists, its nature should be stated
for each author. When there is a stated potential conflict
of interest and the Editors consider that it may have
relevance to the accompanying paper, a footnote will be
added indicating the author(s)’ equity interest in or other
affiliation with the identified commercial firms.
Title Page
The title page should include a brief and descriptive title
of the article, a short title of less than 40 characters, the
authors’ names and academic degrees, hospital and
academic affiliations, acknowledgment of grants and
other support, and the name and address (including zip
code), telephone, fax and e-mail address of the individual
responsible for editorial correspondence.
All sources of financial support for the study should be
cited, including federal or state agencies, nonprofit
organizations, and pharmaceutical or other commercial
sources.
Abstracts
Each article should include a brief abstract of no more
than 200 words. The abstract should be structured with
the following headings: Background, Methods and
Results, and Conclusions. In the Background section,
describe the rationale for the study. In Methods and
Results, briefly describe the methods and present the
significant results. In Conclusions, state succinctly the
interpretation of the data.
Key Words
Authors should supply a list of up to four key words not
appearing in the title, which will be used for indexing.
Text
The text should be organized as follows: Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Introduction
should describe the purpose of the study and its relation
to previous work in the field; it should not include an
extensive literature review. Methods should be concise
but sufficiently detailed to permit repetition by other in-
vestigators. Previously published methods and modifica-
tions should be cited by reference. Results should present
positive and relevant negative findings of the study, sup-
ported when necessary by reference to tables and figures.