The Journal of Electrocardiology is devoted exclusively to clinical and experimental studies of the electrical activity of the heart. It seeks to contribute significantly to the accuracy of diagnosis and prognosis and the effective treatment, or prevention of heart disease. The contents include electrocardiography, vectorcardiography, arrhythmias, pacing, basic and clinical electrophysiology, monitoring, defibrillation, instrumentation, drug effects, and computer applications. Submission of a manuscript to the Journal implies that it reports unpublished work and is not being submitted to another journal. Accepted manuscripts become the sole property of the Journal and may not be published elsewhere without the consent of the publisher. Upon acceptance of an article, all authors will be asked to sign a form that transfers copyright ownership to the publisher, and the paper will not be processed for publication until the signed form has been returned.
Electronic Manuscript Submission All new manuscripts should be submitted through the Journal of Electrocardiology online submission and review Web site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/jecg). Authors should submit the text, tables, and artwork in electronic form to this address. The website guides authors step by step through the creation and uploading of the various files. Note that original source files, not PDF files, are required. Author 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 reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be by email. Original submission items include a cover letter, the manuscript (including title page, abstract, text, references, table/figure legends, and suggested reviewers), tables, and figures. In the cover letter authors should state that each author has contributed to, read, and approved the manuscript; and none of the authors has any conflict of interest, financial or otherwise. Revised manuscripts should also be accompanied by a unique file (separate from the covering letter) with responses to reviewers' comments. The preferred order of files is as follows: cover letter, response to reviewers (revised manuscripts only), manuscript file(s), table(s), figure(s). Files should be labeled with appropriate and descriptive files names (e.g., SmithText.doc, Fig1.eps, Table3.doc). Upload text, tables, and graphics as separate files. Do not import figures or tables into the text document.
Original Research articles should be limited to 5,000 words and 25 references. When necessary, authors may submit an additional "Suggested Reading" list to be published online only.
Review articles should contain the most significant aspects and achievements in the reviewed scientific area. The review itself should not be a gathering of detailed information but present a summarization of critically selected and evaluated literature which should reflect the most important findings. The review article should be divided into the following sections: title page, introduction, review, conclusions, supporting information, clinical significance and references. The review article should be limited to 10 to 15 double-spaced pages (including text, references, and figure legends), 3 illustrations and 20 references.
Technical articles should contain full-length reviews of new cardiovascular technologies, methods, or new clinical guidelines that are developed for potential widespread clinical use. The technical article should be divided into the following sections: 1. introduction (a brief summary of the "technology" with its clinical use highlighted), 2. history of development, 3. description (including how it is used), 4. clinical role (how it adds to other more established techniques, potential implementation into guidelines, and those clinical questions that it is unable to answer or that are better answered by other means), 5. current problems, 6. future developments, and 7. conclusion. The technical article should be limited to 10 to 15 double-spaced pages (Including text, references, and figure legends), and 25 references.
Case Reports and other Short Communication should be limited to 3 to 5 pages (including text, references, figure legends, tables, figures, etc.) and 8 references. The abstract should not exceed 100 words.
Letters to the Editor regarding articles published in the Journal or current topics of interest are welcome. A letter should not exceed 1000 words in length and must be limited to three authors and five references. Authors of the original article cited in the letter will be invited to reply. Letters to the editor should be submitted via the online manuscript submission process. An expedited peer review process will be used and accepted letters will be published in the "Journal" section in the next available issue.
Manuscripts Microsoft Word is the preferable format for manuscripts. Formatting, such as Greek letters, italics, super- and subscripts, may be used: the coding scheme for such elements must be consistent throughout.
Pagination: Begin numbering with the title page as page 1, the abstract as page 2, and continue throughout the text, references, figures legends and tables. Place page numbers in the lower right corner of each page.
The title page should list the title; authors' names, degrees, and institutional affiliations; a short title of 40 characters or less (to be used as a running head); and the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the author who will be responsible for reviewing page proof and for reprint requests. Do not use abbreviations in the title. Acknowledgments of financial support also should be listed on the title page.
The manuscript should begin with a structured abstract, no more than 150 words long, that summarizes the problem presented, studies undertaken, results, and conclusions, separated into headed sections that summarize the background and purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. The text should follow standard scientific format: introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. The text should be double-spaced. Submitted manuscripts not meeting these criteria will be returned to the author for correction as a requisite for initiation of the review process.
References should be cited in numerical order in the text, with the reference number in parenthesis. Please refrain from using the Microsoft Word end notes feature as references or automatic list numbering because these features are lost in conversion: simply type the reference number in parentheses in the text and type the reference list as a separate section at the end of the article. (Please note that the use of the citation manager End Note is acceptable.)
In-text reference numbers should appear before any punctuation (example: This was shown by Miller (3), and later confirmed by Jones (4)). Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy and completeness of references. Journal titles should be abbreviated as in Index Medicus. Follow the examples shown below for style and completeness.
Journal article
Shah RR. Drug-induced QT dispersion: does it predict the risk of torsade de pointes? J Electrocardiol 2005;38:10.
Book
Wagner GW: Marriott's Practical Electrocardiology, 10th Ed. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia, 2001
Chapter in a book
Feigenbaum H: Left atrial dimension. p. 269. In Feigenbaum H (ed): Echocardiography. 4th ed. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1986
Website
US Food and Drug Administration/Health Canada. The clinical evaluation of QT/QTc interval prolongation and proarrythmic potential for non-antiarrythmic drugs. Preliminary Concept Paper (15 November 2002). http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/03/briefing/pubs%5Cprelim.pdf [Accessed on 10 February 2004].
Illustrations. Whenever possible, figures should be sized to fit in one column (3¼inches wide). Authors are responsible for the cost of color printing ($650 for the first figure, $100 for each additional figure). At no cost to authors, figures may appear in black and white in the print version of the journal and in color in the online version of the journal. Illustrations should be cited in numerical order in the text. Legends, included in the manuscript file, should be as brief as possible, and should explain any abbreviations used in the illustration. For guidelines on submitting electronic art, please visit http://www.elsevier.com/jecg and click on "Artwork Guidelines" or contact the editorial office.
Electrocardiograms. Images should be scanned at a minimum resolution of 600dpi (or 1200dpi if the image contains very fine line weights) in black and white. Save your image in TIFF format, not as compressed BMP or JPG files. Show ECG waveforms and a cleanly reproduced background grid. Avoid reproduction of faxed or xeroxed ECGs and ensure that scanning does not introduce waveform artifact or jagged background grids. All submissions will be reviewed in the Editorial Office; if the quality is not sufficient the manuscript will be returned to the authors before the review process is initiated.
Video Clips. If the author wishes, illustrations that are inherently moving images may be submitted as repetitive clips for publication online. Video clips should be submitted as MPG, MOV, AVI, or GIF files. To limit the loading time, clips should contain only one cycle and should be less than 1.5 megabytes. All illustrations should take less than a minute to load. Larger clips are permissible with 3-D images. For the print publication, submit a still picture that is representative of the moving image, and include in the legend reference to the video clip.
Tables, in a separate file, should be intelligible without reference to the text. Footnotes may be used to explain abbreviations. Tables should be cited in numerical order in the text.
Permissions. Must be obtained from the publisher and/or author for the use of any nonoriginal material. A copy of the written permission should be submitted with the manuscript. Authors are responsible for any permissions fees. Please contact the editorial office for a permission request form.
Online Only Articles. After acceptance the editor will provide authors with the option for their manuscripts to be published either rapidly online only, or later when print space is available. These articles will be published online as soon as proof corrections are completed and their abstracts will be rapidly published in print. Online Only Material. Authors may submit materials to be published online only when not appropriate or reasonable to include in the print journal. Examples include video clips, supplemental figures, data sets, or suggested reading lists.
Articles in Press. After proof corrections are incorporated, articles will be posted online as Articles in Press. The official publication date will be the date articles are posted online. When articles are published in print, they will be removed from the Articles in Press page.
PDF Proofing. The corresponding author will receive proofs via e-mail in PDF format, which should be corrected and returned within 48 hours of receipt. Proofs must be carefully checked by the authors, as it is their responsibility to see that all errors are corrected and queries from editors answered. Any paid color art will be included in the PDF proof.

Checklist for the author

[ ] Cover Page

[ ] Statement that the manuscript is original, and any part of it has not been and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication
[ ] Statement that each author has contributed to, read and approved manuscript
[ ] Statement that none of the authors has any conflict of interest

[ ] Title Page

[ ] Title of article and short title (40 characters or fewer)
[ ] Authors' names, academic degrees, and affiliations
[ ] Author to whom correspondence and reprint requests are to be sent, including address, business phone and fax numbers, and email address

[ ] Abstract, no more than 150 words long

[ ] Text (including Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion)
[ ] References
[ ] Figure Legends
[ ] Figures and illustrations
[ ] Tables (provide a brief title for each)

[ ] Permission to reproduce previously published material in all forms of media

Offline Submission Should you presently be unable to take advantage of online submission and review, please submit your work to us offline (via mail or email). Our editorial office will make proxy submissions of all manuscripts accompanied by a diskette containing the electronic files of the text, tables, and figures. A double-spaced hard copy version of the final manuscript, free of handwritten alterations, must accompany the disk.

Offline manuscripts and editorial communications should be sent to:

Journal of Electrocardiology
Beverly Perkins, Managing Editor
9340 NC Hwy 57
Rougemont, NC 27572
Tel: 919-316-0494
Alt Tel: 919-668-8826
Fax: 919-668-7079
Email: jelectrocardiology@gmail.com

The publisher is pleased to announce the discontinuation of page charges.



Updated February 2011