Europace - The European Journal of Pacing, Arrhythmias and Cardiac Electrophysiology - is an official Journal of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), a Registered Branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the ESC Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology, and aims to provide an international avenue of communication for top quality original scientific work and reviews in the fields of arrhythmias and pacing. Clinical investigations, basic science translational research, technical issues, short case reports, comprehensive reviews, editorial comments, educational articles, images in pacing and electrophysiology, book reviews and correspondence are included.

Papers that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned for revision before assessment.

FORMS

Conflict of Interest

All authors must declare any conflicts of interest. When submitting your manuscript via Editorial Manager, you will be asked whether you have any conflicts of interest. As submitting author, it is your responsibility to ascertain any conflicts of interest from your co-authors and to highlight these accordingly. If you are unable to declare any conflicts of interest on behalf of your co-authors, all contributing authors will need to complete and return Conflict of Interest forms. These must be sent to the editorial office by fax to: +44 (0)1865 355906.

Any potential conflict of interest that might constitute an embarrassment to any of the authors if it were not to be declared and were to emerge after publication should be declared. Such conflicts might include, but are not limited to, author (or first degree relative) shareholding in or receipt of a grant or consultancy fee from a company whose product features in the submitted manuscript or which manufactures a competing product.

In addition, all authors must submit a statement of Conflict of Interest to be published at the end of their article. If no Conflict of Interest is declared, this will be stated in the article using the following wording:
'Conflict of interest: none declared'

Assignment of Copyright

NEW! OPEN ACCESS OPTION FOR AUTHORS
Starting in July 2005, Europace authors have the option, at an additional charge, to make their paper freely available online immediately upon publication, under the Oxford Open initiative. After your manuscript is accepted, as part of the mandatory licence form required of all corresponding authors, you will be asked to indicate whether or not you wish to pay to have your paper made freely available immediately. If you do not select the Open Access option, your paper will be published with standard subscription-based access and you will not be charged.

For those selecting the Open Access option, the charges for Europace vary depending on the institution at which the Corresponding author is based:

Optional Oxford Open charges:
For a Corresponding author based at an institution with an online subscription to Europace:
Regular charge per paper – £800 / $1500
List B developing country charge* – £400 / $750
List A developing country charge* – £0 / $0

For a Corresponding author based at an institution that does not subscribe to the online journal:
Regular charge per paper – £1500 / $2800
List B developing country charge* – £750 / $1400
List A developing country charge* – £0 / $0

*Visit http://www.oxfordjournals.org/jnls/devel/for list of qualifying countries.

The above Open Access charges are in addition to any page charges and colour charges that might apply.

If you choose the Open Access option you will also be asked to complete an Open Access charge form online. You will be automatically directed to the appropriate version of the form depending on whether you are based at an institution with an online subscription to Europace. Therefore please make sure that you are using an institutional computer when accessing the form. To check whether you are based at a subscribing institution please use the Subscriber Test link for Europace.

Orders from the UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from elsewhere in the EU you or your institution should account for VAT by way of a reverse charge. Please provide us with your or your institution’s VAT number.

If you need help with the electronic submission process please contact the Editorial Office. Enquiries about the review process and other journal matters should also be directed to the Editorial Office.

Online submission

Please go to the Editorial Manager website for Europace, and follow the instructions given on screen. First-time users must click 'Register' on the navigation menu at the top of the screen, and enter the required information. The system will send you an automatic e-mail with your username and password. Detailed guidelines are available at the Editorial Manager site, by clicking on 'Help' or viewing the author or reviewer tutorials.

You will be asked to supply information about your manuscript and then attach your files containing the text and any figures and tables. Editorial Manager will create a PDF from your data, which is the format in which the manuscript will be made available to the editors and referees during the peer-review process.

The manuscript text, references and figure legends should be prepared in a single file. Papers should be submitted Microsoft Word where possible, although other standard word-processing formats may be acceptable. The manuscript must not be submitted in .pdf format.

Tables and figures may be included in the manuscript file, but must appear at the end of the text on separate sheets (and not embedded in the text).

If preferred, tables and illustrations may be prepared and submitted in separate files. Electronically submitted figures should be in high resolution and in one of the following formats: tiff, bitmap (.bmp), jpeg (.jpg), postscript (.ps or .eps) or as PowerPoint or Excel files. (Should the manuscript be accepted, the original photographs may be required for use in the production process.) Tables may be submitted as Word tables, or in .rtf format.

You will be required to enter the Abstract, Condensed Abstract, Representative Figure and Keywords during the submission process. These may be copied and pasted from the manuscript document, but must still appear in the manuscript itself. Please supply the names and addresses of three referees to whom your manuscript may be sent for review in the 'Enter Comments' section of your electronic submission.

When completing the 'Add Authors' section, please enter the names of the all the authors listed on the manuscript.

Article categories

Europace accepts the following categories of articles:

Clinical investigations: Clinical investigations based on either normal subjects or patients. This category ranges from case series to large scale clinical trials. Papers dealing with trial designs are not encouraged unless the trial concerns more than 500 patients, is novel in design and subject and the authors are prepared to unreservedly offer the full paper dealing with the primary endpoint to Europace. Articles are usually limited to 3,500 words (not including references, tables and figures), up to 3 figures and 3 tables and 50 references.

Basic science papers: The results of cardiovascular pre-clinical research will be considered for publication provided they have potential clinical relevance. Translational research is of particular interest to the journal. Articles are usually limited to 3,500 words (not including references, tables and figures), up to 3 figures and 3 tables and 50 references.

Technical issues: This category includes articles on new methods or devices for the diagnosis or treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias, conduction disturbances or ventricular dyssychrony. Articles are usually limited to 3,500 words (not including references, tables and figures), up to 3 figures and 3 tables and 50 references.

Reviews: Europace publishes a number of scholarly, comprehensive reviews the aims of which are to summarize and critically evaluate research in the field addressed and identify future implications. Reviews should not exceed 5000 words, 5 figures, 5 tables and 150 references.

Mini-Reviews: Europace publishes regular series of scholarly, comprehensive reviews whose aims are to summarize and critically evaluate research in the field addressed and identify future implications. Reviews should not exceed 3000 words, 3 figures, 3 tables and 75 references. These reviews are commissioned by the editors, associate editors and assistant editors.

Educational Reviews: Europace regularly publishes educational reviews submitted by the Education Committee of the European Heart Rhythm Association or the Working Group on Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. They are intended to provide education sufficient to meet the requirements of Accreditation examinations offered by the Associations Reviews should not exceed 3000 words, 3 figures, 3 tables and 100 references.

Editorials: Papers in this section will either provide comment, context and critique of articles published in Europace or provide our readers with focused coverage of topical issues in cardiovascular medicine and related disciplines which are of high current interest and potential. All editorials should be limited to 1500 words, 10 references.

Correspondence: Letters to the Editor must not exceed 500 words and should focus on a specific article published in the Europace within the preceding 12 weeks. No original data may be included. Authors will receive pre-publication proofs, and the authors of the article cited will be invited to reply.

Short communications: This category is intended for detailed case reports, especially if more than one image is or three references are needed. Short communications are usually limited to 750 words 3 figures or three tables and 5 references. Other short communications from technical clinical, translational or basic categories which do not exceed these limits can also be submitted. Please also include a short title with the submission.

Case reports: This category is intended for brief highly informative cases illustrated with a single critical image or table. The case report should be between 250 and 500 words (up to three references are permitted), which will be included with the image. Please also include a short title with the submission.

Images: This category is intended for striking, illustrative, or rare single clinical images such as electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, tomograms, x-rays or pathology specimens Images may be published on the cover of the Journal or within the pages of the journal. Images should be submitted as one figure, with separate lettered panels if required. The complete image should also have an Aspect Ratio 1:1. The image should be submitted with the names of no more than three authors and the clinical message contained in the picture should be amplified in a 250 word description (no references), which will be included with the image. Please also include a short title with the submission.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Text

The manuscript should be typed on one side only of A4 paper, double spaced using 2.5 cm wide margins all round. The text should be arranged as follows: Title page, Structured Abstract and Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Appendices, Tables, Figure legends. (For review articles, the format may be altered, if necessary; an abstract is not required but keywords should be supplied.) References, figures and tables should be numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text. Generic names should be used for drugs and instruments whenever possible.

Title page

The title page should bear: (a) title, (b) name(s) of authors, (c) institution(s) where work was done, (d) addresses of all authors, (e) name of author to whom proofs should be sent, with complete postal address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail details.

Abstracts and keywords

An abstract (maximum 200 words) should be typed double spaced. The abstract should be structured under the headings (1) Aims, (2) Methods (3) Results (4) Conclusion, followed by a list of three to six keywords.

Condensed abstract

An unstructured abstract of no more than 50 words, typed double spaced on a separate page.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements and details of support in the form of grants, equipment or drugs are typed at the end of the text before References.

References

References are identified in the text by arabic numerals and numbered in the order cited. References are typed double spaced on sheets separate from the text in the Vancouver style. Complete information should be given for each reference, including title of article, abbreviated journal title and inclusive page numbers. The first six authors should be listed, followed by et al.

Examples:
Gianfranchi L, Brignole M, Menozzi C, Lolli G, Bottoni N. Determinants of development of permanent atrial fibrillation and its treatment. Europace 1999; 1: 30–46.

Abello M, Merino JL, Peinado R, Gnoatto M, Arias MA, Gonzalez-Vasserot M, et al. Syncope following cardioverter defibrillator implantation in patients with spontaneous syncopal monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. Eur Heart J 2006; 27:89-95.

Ebels T, Elzenga NJ, Brenken U. Right atrial auricle as inter-caval tunnel in the cavopulmonary connexion: method to avoid the sinus node and its blood supply. In: Minami K, Korfer R, Wada J, eds. Cardiothoracic Surgery. Amsterdam: Elsevier Excerpta Medica 1992: 9–16.

ESC Knowledge Centre Surveys Program, Heart Failure II. http://www.escardio.org/knowledge/ehs/survey/Heart_Failure_II.htm (2 December 2005, date last accessed).

Personal communications, manuscripts in preparation and other unpublished data are not cited in the reference list but are mentioned in the text in parentheses. Titles of journals should be abbreviated in accordance with Index Medicus (see list printed annually in the January issue of Index Medicus).

Figures

All illustrations should be referred to as figures and should be numbered in a single sequence in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.

Electronically submitted figures should be in high resolution and in one of the following formats: tiff, bitmap (.bmp), jpeg (.jpg), portable data format (.pdf) or postscript (.ps or .eps). The resolution required for publication is 300-500 dpi.

If there is difficulty in submitting figures electronically, they may be sent by post to the Editorial Office. (Consideration of the manuscript will not begin until all materials have been received).

Colour illustrations are acceptable but the authors will be expected to bear a proportion of the production cost (£350 per colour figure). Legends are typed double spaced on sheets separate from the text.

For useful information on preparing your figures for publication, go to http://cpc.cadmus.com/da

Representative Figure

Authors should designate a single figure that best summarizes their techniques, their results or the impact of their work. This figure (generally in colour) may be used as a cover illustration for Europace or appear in its table of contents. Colour illustrations which appear only on the front cover will not incur production costs.

Colour figures

Due to the cost of colour reproduction, we are obliged to pass on part of this cost to authors who wish to publish their figures in colour. The charge is £350 per colour figure, which may be waived at the Editor's discretion. Alternatively, figures can be published in black and white at no charge with the colour figures made available as supplementary data to the online article. Colour images which appear on the cover of the journal but not within the pages of the journal will not incur a publication cost.

Orders from the UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from elsewhere in the EU you or your institution should account for VAT by way of a reverse charge. Please provide us with your or your institution’s VAT number.

Tables

Tables are typed on separate sheets with the table number (in arabic numerals) and title above and any explanatory notes below.

Ethics

The manuscript should state that the study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, that the research protocol is approved by the locally appointed ethics committee, and that the informed consent of the subjects (or their parents) has been obtained. Any potential conflict of interest should be declared to the Editor.

Funding

Details of all funding sources for the work in question should be given in a separate section entitled 'Funding'. This should appear before the 'Acknowledgements' section. The following rules should be followed: the full official funding agency name should be given, i.e. ‘National Institutes of Health’, not ‘NIH’; grant numbers should be given in brackets; multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma; agencies should be separated by a semi-colon; no extra wording like 'Funding for this work was provided by ...' should be used; where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number 'to [author initials]'. An example is given here: ‘National Institutes of Health (CB5453961 to C.S., DB645473 to M.H.); Funding Agency (hfygr667789).’

Declaration by authors

A covering letter, signed by all authors stating that they have seen and approved the paper and that the work has not been, and will not be, published elsewhere, should be sent by post to the Editorial Office.

Units and abbreviations

Use SI units of measurement. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract and explain abbreviations when they first occur in the text.

DNA sequences and GenBank accession numbers

For each and every gene accession number cited in an article, authors should type the accession number in bold, underlined text. Letters in the accession number should always be capitalised. Example: "(GenBank accession nos. AI631510, AI631511, AI632198, and BF223228), a B-cell tumour from a chronic lymphatic leukaemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117)".

Permissions

If illustrations are borrowed from published sources, written permission must be obtained from both publisher and author, and a credit line giving the source added to the legend. If text material totalling 250 to 300 words, or any tables, are borrowed verbatim from published sources, written permission is required from both publisher and author. With shorter quotations, it is sufficient to add a bibliographic credit. Permission letters for reproduced text or illustrations must accompany the manuscript. If you have been unable to obtain permission, please point this out.

Proofs

PDF proofs will be e-mailed to the corresponding author. Major alterations (other than corrections of typesetting errors) instigated by the author at proof stage will be charged to the author. Proofs should be returned to Oxford Journals within 2 working days of receipt. Proofs are also read by the Editor-in-Chief, who reserves the right of final decision.

Offprints

A URL providing free access to the online version of the article will be e-mailed to the corresponding author. This link may then be distributed to interested parties. Paper offprints may be ordered at proof stage using the Offprint Order Form sent with the proof.

Orders from the UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from elsewhere in the EU you or your institution should account for VAT by way of a reverse charge. Please provide us with your or your institution’s VAT number.

Images in Pacing and Electrophysiology and Issue Arrhythmia papers

Papers should be prepared to fit no more than one printed page in the journal.

Referees

The editors of Europace will select the referees to whom the manuscript will be sent for review. Up to 4 referees may be proposed by authors provided that they supply full names and contact details. Referees will be asked to declare any potential conflict of interest. The names and potential conflicts of interest of referees who have assisted the journal to accept a manuscript for publication will be printed with the paper.

EUROPACE SELF-ARCHIVING POLICY

Author Self-Archiving/Public Access policy

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving Policy page.