INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

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CVJA Calls for Articles
The Cardiovascular Journal of Africa has now joined more than 2 900 leading scientific journals including the American Journal of Cardiology and the American Heart Journal in using Editorial Manager for submission and review of manuscripts. This online service has been available from 1 October 2006.  Editorial Manager, which is used by more journals than any other online system, provides:

• Simple submission of your manuscript
• Easy-to-access check on the status of your submission
• Convenient amendment of your submitted manuscript during the peer-review process
• You can now submit in English or Afrikaans/French/Portuguese with English summary

Instruction to Authors
The Cardiovascular Journal of Africa is pleased to consider original articles, reviews, discussions on topical issues, case studies, meeting reports and other contributions relevant to the understanding, treatment and care of vascular disease.

Original articles and reviews are sent for independent peer-review. Material is accepted for publication on the understanding that it has not been published elsewhere. Authors will be asked to confirm this in writing and transfer copyright to the Journal.

Authors submitting papers to CVJA should also register as a reviewer as a quid pro quo for authors for reviewers reviewing your submission. If authors do not register as reviewers it may be taken in consideration when deciding on acceptance and rejection, and the time of publication. We do try not to call on a reviewer more that once a year but in rare circumstances it may be twice.

Submission
All categories of manuscripts for the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa must be submitted on-line to Editorial Manager. You will be assigned your own password and user name. This will allow complete interaction between the editor and authors. Internally, reviewers will be approached to review material in their field of expertise and assigned with similar interaction. All information will be entirely protected and confidential.

All submissions should be written in a clear and succinct manner, following the style of the Journal. Title page should include a descriptive title; authors’ surname and forename, address of each author and full address, telephone, fax and e-mail contacts for the corresponding author. In text: tables and figures are either inserted as part of sentence, for example Table 1, or in parentheses, for example (Fig. 1). Each table should carry a descriptive heading.

Editorial Manager will clearly indicate which aspects of the submission must be supplied off-line (download off-line document).  This must be provided to the Journal by fax or mail (fax number +27 21 976 8129 or PO Box 1013, Durbanville, 7551) or e-mail to info@cvja.co.za.

All images MUST be at or above intended display size, with the following image resolutions: Line Art 800 dpi, Combination (Line Art + Halftone) 600 dpi, Halftone 300 dpi Image files also must be cropped as close to the actual image as possible.

References numbered in the order of appearance in the text, according to Vancouver style. For articles: Author AB, Author C, Author M. The title of the article. Abbreviated journal title 1999; 14: 172–183. For book chapters: Author AB, Author CD. The title of the chapter. In: Editor A, Editor BC, ed. Title of the book, 2nd edn. Location: Publisher, 1999: 133 –139. DOI Numbers /PMID(Pubmed ID) must be added to all references to facilitate tagging for PubMed Central.

Original articles: Title page as above. Abstract (150 words) a short inclusive statement suitable for direct electronic abstracting, identifying the purpose of the study, key methods, the main results and the main conclusion. Keywords: maximum of six keywords for indexing. Introduction: concise description of background, sufficient for the non-specialist to appreciate the context of the work. Clear statement of the purpose of the study. Methods: a brief description of study design, procedures, analytical techniques and statistical evaluation. Results: a clear account of the study findings using quantitative language where possible and cross-referenced to tables and figures.

Discussion
an interpretation of the study placed within the context of current knowledge, leading to specific conclusions where possible. Acknowledgements. References, figures and tables as above.

Reviews
Title page as above. Abstract (150 words) setting out the scope, key messages and conclusions of the review. Body of text liberally partitioned with headings and subheadings leading to a synopsis with conclusions at the end. Key messages in a separate box itemising two to five short principal statements. Acknowledgements, references, tables and figures as above.

Other articles should adopt a concise style consistent with similar articles previously published in the journal. Manuscripts should include a title page, and appropriate subheadings for text. Style of tables, figures and references as above.

Figures be sent to us in a high resolution JPEG format, but they MUST be sent separately from the Word document. If not in high resolution JPEG, then Powerpoint will do.  Editorial Manager will clearly indicate which aspects of the submission must be supplied off-line (download off-line document).  This must be provided to the Journal by fax or mail (fax number +27 21 976 8129 or PO Box 1013, Durbanville, 7551) or e-mail to info@cvja.co.za.

The status of progression of the peer-review system will be directly accessible by authors. The Editorial Manager system is particularly useful to authors and reviewers as there is a direct link to PubMed for viewing all related articles on the subject matter.

Submitted manuscripts must be supplied with a covering letter with any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type or format of article that the manuscript represents. If the manuscript has been submitted previously to another journal, it is helpful to include the previous editor's and reviewers' comments with the submitted manuscript, along with the authors' responses to those comments. Copies of any permission to reproduce published material, to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people, or to name people for their contributions must accompany the manuscript.

Manuscript Processing Fee (effective 1 September 2011)
It has become necessary for the CardioVascular Journal of Africa to charge a modest manuscripts processing fee of ZAR 400 for all articles submitted for publication.

This is normal for most, if not all, journals. We so far have been able to survive without charging authors for submissions but can no longer do so. We regret that we have to implement this as from the 1st of September 2011. Payment will need to be made online and once payment has been received, the manuscript will be further processed for possible publication.

This payment is a processing fee and does not guarantee publication of the article. The processing fee is not refundable in the event of rejection as processing cost will have been incurred.

Guidelines for Authors and Readers of the CVJA
The Cardiovascular Journal of Africa (CVJA), which incorporates the Cardiovascular Journal of South Africa, is particularly concerned with publication of scientific articles related to Cardiac and Vascular conditions and situations, concerning adults and children, in Sub Saharan Africa. But will accept articles from all parts of the world.

Basic Science publications related to clinical aspects either for elucidation, in-depth understanding or therapeutic approaches are accommodated. The Journal functions as official medium for other related societies which do not as yet have own Journals such as, Hypertension, Stroke, Nuclear Medicine and Magnetic Resonance in Cardiology, Paediatrics, Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, and Vascular disease in Diabetes and Obesity.

Index Medicus / Medline and Sabinet lists the Journal for indexing and electronic citation. A printed version and an electronic version for citation and publication of abstracts are produced. The abstracts of articles published appear on PubMed with a link out to Sabinet to give access to full text retrieval of published material.

First Advance Online Publication (ahead of print publication)
The Cardiovascular Journal of Africa is launching an online First Advance Online Publication (ePublication ahead of print) with full text availability via Pubmed and this website which is accessible via Google and other search engines.

This facility is also known internationally as E-publication, ahead of print and offers authors the opportunity to publish their research articles sooner for an international audience.

Articles published online with CVJA will be published with unique DOI numbers, which ensures that the article can be cited using the date of the manuscript’s first online posting and its DOI number. DOI’s provide a persistent, permanent way to identify manuscripts in an electronic environment and are generated via our Editorial Management system and in accordance with the policy of the DOI foundation.

An example, of how articles are cited first online and then in print version is provided below:
Webster I et al. AMP Kinase activation and glut4 translocation in isolated cardiomyocytes. Cardiovasc J Afr. Prepublished month, day, year. DOI: 10.5830/CVJA-2011-042

The initial Pubmed citation will be updated after the print version appears.

Cost of First Advance Online Publication (Payment can be made online with a valid credit card)
ZAR 2500 for Authors outside of Africa
ZAR 1000 for African Authors (including South Africa)

Please note that the Online First option is only available once your article has been accepted for publication. Also note there will be no refunds, any payment made before an article is accepted/rejected will be forfeited.

Editorial Policy
Statements and opinions expressed in articles and communications in CVJA are those of the authors and not those of the Editor or publisher. The Editor and publisher disclaims any responsibility or liability for such views. Neither the Editor nor the publisher guarantees, warrants or endorses any product or service advertised in this publication; neither do they guarantee any claim made by the manufactures of such product or service.

Material submitted for publication in the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa is accepted on condition that it has not been published elsewhere. The management reserves the copyright of the articles published. Aspects of cardiovascular medicine related to Sub-Saharan Africa will be encouraged.

Authors submitting papers to CVJA should also register as a reviewer as a quid pro quo for authors for reviewers reviewing your submission. If authors do not register as reviewers it may be taken in consideration when deciding on acceptance and rejection, and the time of publication. We do try not to call on a reviewer more that once a year but in rare circumstances it may be twice.