Guidelines for Authors

Journal of Structural Heart Disease is the official journal of the PICS Foundation, the organization that runs the largest structural/congenital course of its kind “PICS/AICS” [Pediatric and Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium], which will be devoted to all structural and congenital heart diseases.

Therefore, the major mission of the journal is to disseminate knowledge, stimulate skill development, and share ideas through dialogue among clinicians as well as a lay audience including patients that will improve the quality of care, quality of life, and other health outcomes for all patients with structural, valvular, and congenital heart disease.

SUBMISSION

Manuscripts should be submitted by author(s) of the manuscript through online Rapid Review System (RRS). Submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be accepted. Only MS Word files can be submitted through the RRS. The corresponding author takes responsibility for the paper during submission, peer review and publication.
If submission through the RRS is not possible for any technical reason, the author can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for support.

Terms of submission

Only an acknowledgment from the editorial office officially establishes the date of receipt. Further correspondence and proofs will be sent to the author(s) before publication unless otherwise indicated. It is a condition of submission of a paper that the authors permit editing of the paper for readability.

Submission of original research papers

If you are asked to revise your paper, the editors may specify an alternate word limit.
The manuscript should be arranged as follows: (1) Title page; (2) Abstract and Key Words; (3) Introduction; (4) Methods; (5) Results; (6) Discussion; (7) Conclusions; (8) Acknowledgement; (9) References; (10) Appendices; (11) Tables; (12) Figures as individual files with all legends either within the main document or all included into a single separate file.

Submission of review articles

Review introduces the readership to a particular area of an author’s research through a concise overview of a selected topic. The content should balance scope with depth. Such manuscripts require an abstract. The overall text length should not exceed 10,000 words (including references and figure legends). References to important work from others that is significant to the topic should be included.

Submission of short communication

Short communication is a report of unusual urgency, significance and interest originating in all areas of structural and/or congenital heart disease, which may not exceed 2,000 words. An introductory paragraph should explain its significance and the end paragraph may summarize the major conclusions that can be drawn pointing to possible future applications.
Manuscripts should be double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and references. All pages must be numbered consecutively from the title page, and include acknowledgement, references, tables and figure legends.

AUTHORSHIP / COVERLETTER

Manuscripts must be submitted with a cover letter stating that: (1) Designate the corresponding au- thor; (2) All author(s) have read and approved the submitted manuscript; (3) Make full disclosure of any potential conflict of interest; (4) The paper is not under any consideration elsewhere; (5) The contents of submitted paper by JSHD have not been previously published elsewhere.
Corresponding author information must include the following:
(1) Full name with degree; (2) Department; (3) Institution name; (4) Full mailing address; (5) Phone + fax with spaces formating the numbers properly for the country; (6) Email address.

ETHICS

Informed consent

Journal of Structural Heart Disease adheres to the principles set forth in the Helsinki Declaration and holds that all reported research conducted with human participants should be conducted in accordance with such principles. Reports describing data obtained from research conducted in human participants must contain a statement in the Methods section indicating approval by the institutional review board.

Humane Animal Care

All papers reporting experiments using animals must include a statement in the Methods section giving assurance that all animals have received humane care in compliance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http:// www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html).

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

At submission, JSHD requires that all authors disclose any association that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All authors must submit a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, available on the JSHD website.

PEER REVIEW

All manuscripts are subject to peer review and are expected to meet standards of academic excellence. At least two reviewers will be assigned to each full-length article. We aim to provide feedback to the authors around four weeks after receipt of the manuscript. If approved by the editor, submissions will be considered by peer reviewers, whose identities will remain anonymous to the authors.

MANUSCRIPT / TITLE PAGE

Title page should declare the following information: (1) Title; (2) Author(s) with full name, academic degree(s) and institution(s) where work was performed, the present address(es) of author(s) should appear in the footnote, if differ with above; (3) Corresponding author and contact information including their full mailing address, phone, fax and email; (4) Word count and page number; (5) Running title no exceed than 40 characters (including letters and spaces); (6) Full title page should not exceed 120 characters including spaces. (7) Abbreviations should be avoided.

ABSTRACT

Provide an abstract of maximal 300 words, pre- senting essential data in 5 paragraphs introduced by separate headings in the following order: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions and Key words. Use complete sentences. All data in the abstract must also appear in the manuscript text or tables.

Key words

At the end of abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

TEXT

The text should be structured as Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. Use heading and subheadings in the Methods, Results, and particularly in the Discussion section. Every reference, figure, and table should be cited in the text in numerical order according to order of mention.

Introduction

Introduction section provides a context or back- ground for the study. State the specific purpose or research objective or hypothesis tested by the study or observation.

Methods

Methods section should include methods, apparatus (including manufacturer in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient details to allow others to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods; provide references and brief descriptions for published lesser known methods; identify all used drugs and chemicals precisely, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

Statistics

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 non-default options used. 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 Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication,” available from http://www.ICMJE.org and most recently updated version.

Results

Describe or summarize the most important findings in logical sequence in text, tables and figure legends. Avoid needless duplication.

Discussion

a) describe the most latest and important aspects of the study and explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings; b) compare and contrast the results with other relevant studies; c) explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.

Limitations

In the discussion section, state the limitations of the study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

General acknowledgement for consultations, technical assistance, statistical analysis, financial support and so on, should be acknowledged at the end of text, before references. Include full names of individuals.

REFERENCES

Reference format should conform to that set forth in “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (www.ICMJE.org) and journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus. The style of citation should be as follows:

Journals

Authors’ last names and initials (list all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list six and add et al). Title of article. Journal name. Year;Volume number:Inclusive pages. DOI (preferable) or PMID.

Johnson HG, Fanning PS, McIntyre JG. Adverse predictors in aortic disease. J Cardiovasc Inter. 2009;112:667-672. DOI: 10.0000/sampledoi.001.

Books

Authors’ last names and initials. Chapter title. Editor’s name. Book title, edition. City: Publisher; Year, pages. DOI (preferable) or PMID.

Lutz, H. H. Pylori footprints in the aortic wall. In: Harris EH and Bondy G. Primer on Aortic Diseases, 4th Edition. New York: Academic Press; 2007, p. 98.-104. DOI: 10.0000/sampledoi.002.

Online Media

Authors' last names and initials [if avaialble]. Title of the citable document or media source. Available at [Link]. Accessed on [Date]

Smith J, Allen S. 1996 NRC Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Available at http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/contents.html. Accessed on November 9, 2011.

For more details about various types of reference formatting please visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256.

ABBREVIATION

Use only standard abbreviations, which should conform to the International System of Units (SI). The spell-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement.

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 brief title. Do not use internal horizontal or vertical lines. Give each column a short or an abbreviated heading. Abbreviations should be listed in a footnote under the table in alphabetical order. 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.

ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURE & FIGURE LEGENDS

All figures should be submitted as individual files with all legends either within the main document or all included into a single separate file.

Figure Legends

All figures must have a Number, Title, and Caption. The title should be short and followed by a 2–3 sentence caption. All abbreviations used in the figure should be identified in an alphabetical order at the end of each legend. All symbols used (arrows, circles, etc.) must be explained. 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. If previously published figures are used, written permission from the original publisher is required. Cite the figure source in the legend.

Artwork

Figures and graphs submitted in digital color or black and white composites should be provided as JPEG, TIFF or GIF files. Maximum size no more than 6x8 inches. Color images should be at least 300 DPI. Gray scale images should be at least 600 DPI. Line art (black and white) images should be at least 600 DPI. Photomicrographs should have internal scale makers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. 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 3.4” wide. Decimals, lines, and other details must be strong enough for reproduction.

Video Clips and Animations

Video clips should be in one of the following formats: AVI, MPG, WMV, MOV, or MP4 using the H.264 (x264) codec (preferable format). Authors should opt for the minimum frame size and number of images that are consistent with a reasonably effective on-screen presentation. Video clips with sound are acceptable. Authors should submit online videos or movies as separate supplemental data files, with accompanying captions, and should not integrate them into a custom-written Web page or presentation. Authors should make every effort to keep file sizes reasonable (~10MB or less) and should carefully consider whether the material is genuinely essential to the paper in question. Authors must also provide a still image from each video file in TIFF, EPS or JPG format.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

Authors must complete the Copyright Transfer Form, which is available on the site for electronic submission at http://structuralheartdisease.org/submit-a-manuscript.

POWERPOINT FILES

Powerpoint files can be included to support the manuscript. Please include the title, authors and affiliations on the title page. Any references used within the file must be added onto the end of the presentation. If any videos are embedded into the Powerpoint file they must be encoded as an MP4 file using the H.264 (x264) codec.
Manuscripts that rely on a Powerpoint file as the majority of the content must provide all information stated within the MANUSCRIPT / TITLE PAGE section within a separate Word file.

If any videos from the Powerpoint file are to be used within the content of the manuscript, please provide figure legends as stated within the ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURE & FIGURE LEGENDS section.

ONLINE INTERACTION / SOCIAL NETWORKING

The journal includes the capacity for instant “social networking”, whereby a reader can communicate a message immediately to the author of an article, to a member of the Editorial Board, or to the manufacturer of a mentioned product by the automatic link. This feature adds to the appeal of the journal by permitting readers to gain access to additional information, clarifications, or advice on specific patients—as well as affording the opportunity to communicate differences of opinion or objections to information or points of view. This should all make for a lively, interactive, modern journal environment that makes full use of the networking abilities of the modern era. Journal of Structural Heart Disease is specifically intended to be a living, interactive entity. We encourage and support online interaction and social networking. Submissions will be chosen selectively for the Editorial Board to reply and comment, depending on general interest and clinical importance to the readership. All authors are required to register at http://structuralheartdisease.org in order to receive comments from readers and to respond to them.

AUTHOR INQUIRIES

For inquiries relating to the submission of articles or to articles currently being reviewed, please contact the Journal’s editorial office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

CONTACT INFO

Please address all non-Internet correspondence to:

Editorial Office

DOWNLOAD

Download the author guidelines + checklist