Information for Authors

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics publishes original basic human studies, original animal studies, and original bench research with potential clinical application to cardiovascular pharmacology and therapeutics. The focus of the experimental studies is translational research. The journal also publishes review articles on basic research, clinical research, editorials, commentaries, points of view, and controversies. Selected journal supplements will also be published. Future focus will include cardioprotective therapies, stem cell therapy, regenerative cardiology, therapies for preventive cardiology (risk factor management), and antiarrhythmic therapies. Case reports will not be accepted. Regarding basic science studies, priority will be given to in vivo studies that focus on pharmacologic therapy for disease models. In general isolated cell studies alone, without an in vivo component, will be given low priority. JCPT will no longer consider studies of herbal remedies: these contributions should be submitted to journals of alternative medicine.

Editorial Policies

Manuscripts are accepted for consideration on the condition that they are contributed solely to Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. No substantial part of a paper may have been published elsewhere, including being published in another language besides English, except for a scientific abstract. All work must be original. Previously published long phrases, sentences, and paragraphs (including the author’s own work) must be properly cited in AMA format—anything else will be considered unacceptable. A direct quote of no more than 4 lines from textual material should be enclosed in double quotation marks; if longer than 4 lines it should be formatted as a block extract. Always verify the quote against the original source, and the citation should include the exact page number(s) of the source. Such directly quoted material should be used sparingly. The receipt of your manuscript by the Journal will be acknowledged and a decision regarding its status made as soon as possible. All manuscripts are subject to editorial review. Manuscripts must be written in acceptable English. Manuscripts submitted in poor English will be returned without review. Some manuscripts that are deemed inappropriate for the journal or very low priority by the editorial staff may be returned without review.

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics operates a conventional single-blind reviewing policy in which the reviewer’s name is always concealed from the submitting author. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two referees.

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

Made a substantial contribution to the concept and design, acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data,

Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,

Approved the version to be published.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

Research Ethics and Patient Consent

Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

In terms of patient privacy, authors are required to follow the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published.

All research submitted for publication must be approved by an ethics committee with oversight of the facility in which the studies were conducted. The journal has adopted the Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare for Veterinary Journals published by the International Association of Veterinary Editors.

Reporting

NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. Other resources can be found at the EQUATOR Network.

Clinical Trials

JCPT conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

Data

SAGE acknowledges the importance of research data availability as an integral part of the research and verification process for academic journal articles. JCPT requests that all authors make primary data available upon request. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical review Board requirements and applicable government regulations.

Publication Ethics

SAGE is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the SAGE Author Gateway.

English Language Editing Services

Authors who would like to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider using the services of a professional English-language editing company. We highlight some of these companies at http://languageservices.sagepub.com/en/. An author’s use of these services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and the particular company, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.

Plagiarism and Attestation Statement

In order to help assure that all papers are original submitted papers are now routinely screened using a computerize plagiarism tracking system known as iThenticate. This program picks up phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that have previously been published, including the authors’ own work. The program generates a similarity index. If the similarity index is greater than about 33% after removal of the bibliography, the paper will be sent back without a review.

We request that at the time of submission, the roles of all co-authors are provided using the authorship form available here .

Manuscript Preparation

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics prefers to receive all manuscript submissions electronically. To submit a manuscript, please follow the instructions below:

Getting Started

• Launch your web browser (supported browsers include Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Netscape 7.0, 7.1, or 7.2, Safari 1.2.4, or Firefox 1.0.4) and go to the JCPAT’S Manuscript Central homepage (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcpat).

• Log-in or click the ‘‘Create Account’’ option if you are a first-time user of Manuscript Central.

• If you are creating a new account:

• Enter your institution and address information as prompted then click ‘‘Next.’’

• Enter a user ID and password of your choice (we recommend using your e-mail address as your user ID) and then select your area of expertise. Click ‘‘Finish’’ when done.

Log-in and select ‘‘Author Center.’’

Submitting Your Manuscript

• After you have logged in, click the ‘‘Submit a Manuscript’’ link on the Author Center screen.

• Enter data and answer questions as prompted

• Click on the ‘‘Next’’ button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen.

• You will be prompted to upload your files:

• Select the description of the file in the drop down next to the Browse button.

• When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the ‘‘Upload’’ button.

Review your submission (in both PDF and HTML formats) before sending to the editors. Click the ‘‘Submit’’ button when you are done reviewing.

You may stop a submission at any phase and save it to submit later. After submission, you will receive a confirmation via e-mail. You can also log-on to Manuscript Central any time to check the status of your manuscript. The editors will inform you via e-mail once a decision has been made. For questions regarding Manuscript Central or the status of your submission, please contact the managing editor, Amanda Richardson, at [e-mail]. Average time from submission to first decision: 20 days.

Submission Letter

The manuscript is to be accompanied by a cover letter that states (1) all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript, (2) all authors have read and approve of the data being presented in the manuscript, and (3) the full name, address, e-mail address, phone, and fax number of the individual to whom correspondence concerning the manuscript is to be sent. The cover letter must also specifically state and verify that the paper being submitted has not been previously published in whole or in part in any form, including being published in another language besides English, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and is original. The cover letter should be addressed to

Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD

Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Huntington Medical Research Institutes

10 Pico St.

Pasadena, CA 91105

Title Page

On the title page, please include all of the following information:

The names, degrees, and professional affiliation (position, department, institution, place) of all authors.

The name of the institution where the work reported was done.

Acknowledgment of grant support when appropriate.

Complete mailing address, telephone, and fax of corresponding author and e-mail addresses of all authors.

The American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, is the standard source of style. For more information on the AMA Manual of Style, please visit http://www.sagepub.com. Under the right-hand sidebar ‘‘Resources for …’’ click on ‘‘Journal Editors/Authors’’ and then click on ‘‘Editors Guide.’’ Please view page 27 of the PDF for a brief overview of AMA style points.

Abstract

The abstract should be no longer than 250-300 words in length. The abstract should summarize the main points of the paper and be descriptive, narrative, and informative and should include only information that is in the article. Avoid abbreviations. At the bottom of the abstract, please also submit 3-5 keywords for your article.

Body of the Text

For most original manuscripts, the subheadings Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion or Summary are suggested. The introduction should be no longer than 2-3 paragraphs and should provide background and rationale for the study and specifically state the purpose of the study. The methods section should describe what statistical tests were used. The text of the paper should be no longer than 15-20 double-spaced typed pages in most cases. All tables and figures should be referenced in the main text in the order in which they appear. The discussion should stress what is new in the paper and relate the author’s findings to the existing literature. The discussion should show how the findings add to the existing knowledge base of the subject under study.

Abbreviations

Please avoid excessive and unnecessary abbreviations. Keep them to a minimum. The first time an abbreviation is used it should be defined.

Tables

All tables must be cited in text. Tables are to be numbered with Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2) in order of their text citation. Each table should be typed (double-spaced throughout) on a separate sheet of paper and should have a title. Use spaces, not vertical rules, to separate columns. Each table should have a legend in sufficient detail to allow understanding without reference to the text.

Figure and Artwork Submission

Artwork includes charts and graphs, maps, photographs, line art, and tables with 17 or more columns.

Electronic Art

Acceptable file formats include the following: TIFF, JPEG, and PDF. Microsoft application files are acceptable for vector art (line art). Color figures for the print issue are charged to the author at the rate of $800 for the first figure and $200 for each subsequent figure. Payment must be received before the article can appear in print; the author should note his or her desire to have figures appear in color in the print issue when he or she submits his or her article. Figures will appear in color in the online issue at no charge.

Scanned Images

Line art (black and white) images should be scanned as a bitmap at 900ppi. Photos should be scanned as grayscale or CMYK at 300ppi.

References

References should be cited according to the AMA Manual of Style.In the text, please use a superscripted number that correlates with the reference at the end of the manuscript. When several references are cited simultaneously in the text, you can list the superscripted numbers together, for example, ‘‘Many researchers have debated this subject.^1,2,5,9’’ Use ‘‘et al’’ for cites of 3 authors or more in text. However, in the references, list up to 6 authors. If there are more than 6 authors, list the first 3 authors and then ‘‘et al’’. Type references double-spaced at the end of the manuscript numbered in order of appearance in the manuscript. Unpublished data and personal communications should be given as references. Manuscripts in press may be referenced; however, manuscripts that have been submitted for publication but have not been accepted yet should not be referenced. Avoid quoting abstracts where possible.

Journals

Michaud G, McGowan JL, van der Jagt R, et al. Are therapeutic decisions supported by evidence from health care research? Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:1665-1668.

Book Chapters

Cole BR. Cystinosis and cystinuria. In: Jacobson HR, Striker GE, Klahr S, eds. The Principles and Practice of Nephrology. Philadelphia, PA: BC Decker Inc; 1991:396-403.

Books

Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, et al. Evidence-based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors must disclose all current and foreseeable financial and personal relationships that might inappropriately influence their actions and create a conflict of interest. Complete disclosures of conflicts of interest, or the absence of any conflict of interest, must be provided for all authors on a conflict of interest notification page following the title page of the manuscript. Failure to include this information will delay the review process. Each author’s disclosure will be published. Additionally, a Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure Form, completed by all authors, must be submitted along with the manuscript. The form is available from the managing editor at [e-mail].

Assurance

Research that involves animals must adhere to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals from the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 2011, and any updates; a statement to this effect needs to be described in the methods section. In addition a statement that the protocol was approved by an IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) is required. Research involving humans must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and Title 45, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46, Protection of Human Subjects, revised Nov 13, 2001. A statement that the protocol and informed consent were reviewed and approved by an IRB (Institutional Review Board) should be included in the methods section. The registration number and registry name for clinical trials should be provided in the methods section. See http://www.clinicaltrials.gov .

Proofreading

Prior to publication, the publisher will send a copyedited and typeset PDF of the manuscript via e-mail to the corresponding author to review. Any corrections and alterations to the article should be submitted to the publisher prior to the deadline given in the e-mail. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references and statistical computations.

Copyright and Contributor’s Publishing Agreement

Before publication, SAGE requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. SAGE’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants SAGE the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than SAGE. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

SAGE Choice

If you wish your article to be freely available online immediately upon publication (as some funding bodies now require), you can opt for it to be included in SAGE Choice upon payment of a publication fee. Manuscript submission and refereeing procedure is unchanged, but on acceptance of your article you will be asked to let SAGE know directly if you are choosing SAGE Choice. For further information, please visit http://www.sagepub.com/sagechoice.sp .

Advertising and Reprints

Current advertising rates and specifications may be obtained by contacting the advertising coordinator at [phone] or by sending an e-mail to [e-mail]. Reprints may be ordered by using the special reprint order form that will accompany author proofs. If you need another copy of this order form please e-mail [e-mail].

Further Information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the JCPT editorial office as follows:

Amanda Richardson

[e-mail]