Guidelines for authors

The complete manuscript must be submitted to the Editors in duplicate (original and one copy):

The covering letter should be signed by all authors. By their signature they certify that they have read, checked and approved the manuscript. In addition to the title of the paper, the covering letter should also contain a statement to the effect that the manuscript contains original work not yet published, and that it is not being assessed by another journal with a view to publication. Where several authors are designated as responsible for an article, each individual should have made a substantial contribution at all stages of the article's preparation. Outside financial support or other financial or personal relationships in connection with the submitted manuscript should be indicated in a footnote.

The main purpose of the section “News from the associations” is to enable the governing Images in cardiovascular medicine bodies of the Swiss Cardiology Association or the Swiss Association Against High Blood Pressure to inform their members on questions of general interest to the profession. It consists primarily of contributions to further education, reports of working groups as well as recommendations and consensus documents of clinical work. As a rule these texts should not exceed 3–4 manuscript pages in length.

Review articles are primarily intended for further education of the medical profession and should therefore be drafted in readily accessible language, include 4–6 illustrations and/or charts, and be adequately illustrated and documented by 20–30 literature references. The text itself should not exceed 8 typewritten pages in length. Articles should include a summary in the original language of not more than ½–1 A4 page and a summary in English of not more than ½–1 A4 page.

These papers should be based on scientific standards as published in the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. JAMA 1997;277:927–34).

Scientific papers include summaries in the original language and English (½–1 A4 page each), an introduction (not more than 1 A4 page), information about the methods, results and a discussion. The introduction and the discussion should refer to other publications in literature and not exceed 20–30 references.

This section publishes interesting findings from clinical investigations using echocardiography, MRI, angiography or other imaging techniques. In addition to the actual imaging material (usually 1–2 illustrations), the clinical background should be described (½–1 A4 page) and the diagnosis and findings explained (not more than ½–1 A4 page; captions to the illustrations). These contributions may also include a short list of literature references (maximum 3).

This section is devoted to ECG findings of special interest. The ECG itself should be accompanied by a presentation of the clinical findings (½–1 A4 page) and the solution (maximum ½–1 A4 page). The ECG should carry a caption.

The editorial board reserves the right to select, Examples: abridge and edit letters to the editor. The shorter the letter, the greater the chance of publication. The text should not exceed 500 words in length, including references if any. This represents approximately 1½ typescript pages.

Use 1½ to double line spacing. If the article is prepared on a PC, avoid changes of character and format as far as possible and include a diskette with the final version (accepted for publication).

Customary abbreviations (e.g. ACTH, ECG) are permitted. All other abbreviations should be used sparingly and an alphabetic list of abbreviations with explanations should be supplied. Abbreviations that are used only once should be avoided. Always use SI units. Results in other units may be added in parentheses.

Tables and figures must be commented upon in the text and their position marked at the appropriate point. In the case of figures and tables from other publications, the source must be stated. If a figure or table has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Lengthy taaninibom i bles should be avoided. Figures and tables should be provided with captions, numbered consecutively and supplied with the manuscript on separate sheets. Do not insert them in the text. Write captions together on a separate sheet and formulate them in such a way that they enable the figure to be understood without referring to the text. All abbreviations employed should be explained in the caption, provided they are not already included in the list of abbreviations. Photographs (colour illustrations are also accepted) should be in the form of glossy prints or slides; for graphics, a good-quality paper printout is sufficient.

In case of doubt, please consult the Publisher for further details.

EMH Swiss Medical Publishers Ltd

Steinentorstrasse 13

P.O. Box

4010 Basel

Tel. 061/467 85 55

Fax 061/467 85 56

e-mail verlag@emh.ch

The list of references should be arranged and numbered in order of appearance in the text, and not alphabetically. The appropriate number should be inserted in square brackets in the text. The full titles of the quoted publications should be listed. List the first six authors followed by <<et al.».

Examples: