Abstract submission rules

Abstracts can be submitted via the online Abstract Submission Platform only. Abstracts sent by email will not be accepted.

The submission deadline is Wednesday 5 January 2022 – 12:00PM (noon) CET.

Options available when submitting your abstract:

• No option (standard submission)
• Young Investigators Award option

General information

Draft Status:  If you do not click on the submit button (Step 4 of the abstract submission service), your abstract will be saved in Draft Status. You will then be able to review it and submit it later before the deadline.

NB: Abstracts that are in draft status after the deadline cannot be processed and therefore will not be considered for selection.

Changes and corrections
Once submitted, it is not possible to make any corrections to the abstract content or information (such as authors list and details, topic, conclusion(s) etc...). The ESC is not authorised to make changes to a submission. In order to correct your abstract, you must withdraw it and submit a new version prior to the deadline (See below for withdrawal procedure). Note that, such replacement of your abstract is not possible after the deadline. In the case of errors in your abstract discovered after the deadline, you may indicate the correction on your presentation. However, changes will not be included in the publications.

If accepted, your abstract will be published as submitted.

Withdrawal:  If you want to withdraw an abstract already submitted, please notify us as quickly as possible at fcvbscientific@escardio.org stating the title and number of the abstract to be withdrawn.
Withdrawals are still accepted after the submission deadline.

Step 1: Abstract Information

Title:  Maximum 200 characters typed in lower-case letters, except for abbreviations and study names. Please be careful that your title might be truncated if you copy and paste it into the field. Do not include authors, institutions, city names, trademarks and abbreviations in the title.
Topic: At the time of abstract submission, the submitter must select one single topic to index the abstract. It is important to carefully select the best matching topic as this choice will determine under which area the abstract will be reviewed and graded.

Therefore, submitters should consider all potential options available before selecting the submission topic. The topic list is organised by main topics and several layers of subtopics to maximize precision. Appropriately choosing the main topic and first subheadings is more important than the lowest layers of subtopics. 

If the abstract is accepted, the presenter will be required to select 3 additional topics/keywords. These are important to optimise indexing of the abstract in the programme and in ESC 365 - the online cardiovascular library. This serves to optimise search results and enhance visibility of the research.

Note that in order to view the topic list, you must first select the ESC Event for which you submit your abstract (first field of the page).

COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Disease:

Please indicate here if your research relates to COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Disease.

Option

You may choose to submit your abstract under one of the following options:  

• No option (standard submission)
• Young Investigators Award option (check your eligibility below)

Young Investigators Award option:

To present your abstract in the Young Investigator Award (YIA) session, the first author/presenter must be under 40 years old at the time of presentation.

Special note to YIA submitters – If you are submitting the abstract on behalf of the first author/presenter, you must enter the first author’s birth date, as this date will be the qualifying point for the option validation. Abstracts with non-eligible birth dates will be automatically removed from this option and graded as “no options” abstracts. Please tick the appropriate box in the Abstract Information section.

Note that by default the 1st author should be the presenter, if not, he/she needs to be able to explain his/her role in the research. During the session, presenters will be in competition and graded under the following categories: originality, scientific content, presentation, answers to questions – they therefore need to be good English speakers.

If your abstract is selected for presentation in one of the two YIA sessions, you will receive specific instructions.
8 finalists will be selected. They will present their research to a Jury; the presentation will be followed by a Q&A time. From the finalists, one winner will be appointed in each session by the Jury members and will receive:
•             €1,000 Prize
•             An award certificate

The 1^st runner up in each YIA session will receive:
•             €300 Prize
•             An award certificate

We highlight the fact that only the Presenter may have a prize & certificate addressed to him/her.

On behalf of - You may use this field to enter the name of the affiliation for your research or the name of an investigating team. Do not use this field to list individual authors.
Affiliation/Investigating team will not be listed in the authors index of the Scientific Programme but will appear in publications.

Funding Acknowledgements - All sources of financial support (including governmental grants) for this research must be filled under this heading, and not in the abstract text. All grant funding agency abbreviations should be spelled out. This information will be published on the abstract itself.

The submitter is asked to indicate the type of funding source(s) and name it/them, if any.
This information may be used in the context of ESC Research projects.  

References/Citations – You may use this field to enter references and/or citations you need to insert in your submission. Do not list references/citations in the body text.

Step 2: Abstract authors and institutions

Your abstract must list at least 1 author in order to be submitted.

Authors list:  Please note that the first author should be the abstract Presenter by default. Nevertheless, it can be modified through the agreement form online available mid-February 2022. In all cases, the Presenter must be part of the authors list included in the submitted abstract and be able to explain his/her role in the research during presentation.
You may enter up to 15 authors in the authors list including the Presenter.

If you have more than 15 authors, you can use the “On behalf of” field (see above) to enter the name of an investigating team/study group.

The names of authors will be published as listed on the submission form. Please make sure you have entered the full list of authors - Official contributors in the research submitted - and that the information given for each author is correct, as no changes will be possible after the abstract is submitted (see paragraph on changes and corrections above).
The authors’ order and details (names, cities, country codes) will be published as entered by the submitter.  

The submitter certifies and warranties to the ESC that the list of authors is complete and that he/she has permission from all persons he/she enters as co-authors to be listed in this abstract and that they are aware that their names will appear in all publications.

If the assigned presenter does not upload the abstract presentation in its required format by the Upload deadline (mid April 2022) – the abstract will be automatically withdrawn and removed from the scientific programme and related publications.

Institutions:
This is a mandatory step.

All participating institutions should be listed as applicable.
You will be requested to select your institution when you create the presenter and the authors. Once you have entered your city, a list will automatically appear from which you can select your institution.
If your institution is not in the list, you have the possibility of creating it.
If your city is not in the list, please enter it, press enter then add your institution.

Step 3: Abstract Content

All abstracts must be submitted (and will be presented) in English using UK English spelling with accurate grammar and spelling suitable for publication. If in doubt, please arrange for the review of your abstract by a native English speaker, by a university scientific publications office (or other similar facility) prior to submission.

Abstracts must contain original material neither published nor presented elsewhere. Please refer to embargo policy below.

Abstracts that indicate “the work is in progress” or “the results will be announced / discussed in the presentation” cannot be accepted as the reviewing committee needs full information to grade the submission and therefore will not be validated for the selection process.

Abstract submitted on animal studies: Study must follow the "Principles of laboratory animal care" (NIH Publication no. 85-23 revised 1985) and according to the national law if applicable.

Do not cut and paste symbols into your text. Use the symbols provided when you click on the Omega button (Ω).

We recommend you structure your abstract using the following headings:

• Background/Introduction
• Purpose
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion(s)

There is not a specific maximum of words, but rather a maximum total size of the abstracts (shown as 100 %), including the text with spaces. The maximum abstract size is 35 lines (3 000 characters).

Use the save and refresh button at the bottom in order to display the size of the abstract in percentage (shown on the left of the screen). The system converts the size in % when you save it as a draft.
The character limit does not include the title and the authors. Only the abstract text and spaces are taken into account.

Abstract picture: In addition to your text, you can add up to 2 pictures.

Should you wish to insert a table in your submission, you need to upload it as a picture.
Your picture file(s) must meet the following criteria:

Format:

• JPEG
• Size: less than 2 MB
• Measures no larger than 1920 pixels(x) x 1080 pixels(y)

The title field for each picture is optional. 

Please make sure that your picture is readable on the abstract preview (this represents how it will look in all publications).  It is the responsibility of the submitter to ensure the quality of the attachment(s) is suitable for publications - if not, picture(s) of insufficient quality may be deleted.

Important: As the grading and selection process is blinded, the title, body text and pictures must not contain identifying features, ie information such as:

• Names (authors or other)
• Names of institute (hospitals, medical schools, clinics…)
• Cities

Also not authorized:

• Trademarks. Use generic drug names. The use of commercial drug names, brands and registered trademarks is strictly prohibited. Drugs should be referred to by the active substance or pharmacological designation
• Company names and location
• Web sites and email addresses

Failure to comply with the above requirements will/may lead to automatic rejection of the submission or this information may be deleted by the abstract services and some rephrasing may occur.

Furthermore, the Abstract Reviewing Committee (graders) is required to identify abstracts pertaining to commercial promotion of a proprietary product, to notify the selection committee. 

Do not include grant acknowledgements in the abstract content. Use the appropriate field (see funding acknowledgement section above).

Abstract reference and citations: Please enter your references & citations in the dedicated field, not in the body text.
Keywords: Do not enter keywords in your submission, as you will enter these at the time of the upload.

Limit use of acronyms and abbreviations. Define at first use with acronym or abbreviation in parentheses.
Do not include copyright or trademark symbols.

Please note that any medical research involving human subjects must conform to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association. We remind you that patient’s photo should be avoided, and the patient must never be identifiable in your presentation.

Step 4: Abstract Preview and submission

Proofread abstracts carefully to avoid errors before submission, check spelling and grammar. The abstract will be reviewed and published (if accepted) as it has been submitted – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Do not forget to click on the Submit button to validate your abstract submission. After having submitted your abstract, you will receive an immediate automatic confirmation by email (please make sure to state your correct email address!) notifying you the abstract number. Please use this reference in all correspondence. If you do not receive this confirmation, please contact us at fcvbscientific@escardio.org

There is no limit to the number of abstracts an author/individual may submit, but the same research cannot be submitted twice, even under a different topic/category or with a different title. If you submit two abstracts with the same content, the abstract submission service will automatically keep the most recent abstract submitted and withdraw the other. Note that duplicate draft abstracts will not be deleted.

If you have difficulties in submitting your abstracts or if you need any further information, please contact us at fcvbscientific@escardio.org

Abstract Grading, selection and results -

All abstracts will be blinded for review by members of the Abstract Reviewing Committee (graders). Each grader is selected by the Congress Programme Committee to review abstracts in the topics that best fits their expertise.
Our intent is to be most inclusive of the quality science received without compromising scientific integrity.
NB - The Abstract Reviewing Committee (graders) is required to identify abstracts pertaining to commercial promotion of a proprietary product, to notify the selection committee.

Abstracts submitted for consideration must be an original idea, concept, or an improvement or revision of a previous idea. Submissions are peer-reviewed for scientific content, logical presentation, and current interest of the topic to the scientific community.

The final selection will be made by the FCVB Programme Committee in February 2022 that will determine the format and schedule of presentation for each abstract. No rescheduling or changes will be possible.

Accepted abstracts will be scheduled as Moderated Posters or Poster presentations. 
All Presentations and Interaction on the research (including questions-and-answers) will be conducted in English. Presenters are expected to speak / write good English.
All abstract submitters will be notified mid-February about the outcome (accepted or not accepted) of the review and selection process. Please ensure that the email provided is accurate as all correspondences will be sent via email.
If the abstract is accepted, instructions and guidelines concerning the abstract presentation will be provided at the time of results announcement.

Presentation and No-Show Policy – Submission of an abstract constitutes a formal commitment by the author(s), if the abstract is accepted, to register to the congress and present the work in person at the congress venue in Budapest, Hungary at the scheduled date and time.
Failure to present and register for the Congress will lead to the removal of the abstract from the scientific programme and all related publications.

In addition, all presenters will be required to upload an electronic version of their presentation to be featured after the event on ESC 365.

All expenses (airfare, hotel, registration....) associated with the submission and presentation of an abstract, are under the responsibility of the presenter.

Publication of abstracts: All presented abstracts will be published in the online abstract supplement of the European Heart Journal – Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine.

Embargo - Accepted abstracts are under embargo until one week before the congress. At that time, they will be available on ESC 365 via the online Scientific Programme.

Submitted abstracts should not be published in any other journals and/or online publications or presented at any international congresses.  

Breaking of the Embargo Policy by a presenter or co-author will lead to the Withdrawal of the abstract/presentation from the Scientific Programme and retraction from all ESC publications. 

Affirmation of Originality and Copyrights transfer statement
By submitting your work to the ESC
- You consent to have authors’ names, affiliation and biographical material used in connection with the publication of your work.
- Author(s) represents and warrants to the ESC that he/she/they is/are sole author(s) of the work, that all authors have participated in and agree with the content and conclusions of the work, and that the work is original and does not infringe upon any copyright, proprietary, or personal right of any third party.
The submitter hereby affirms that the work submitted is original, except for extracts from copyrighted works fully authorised by the copyright holders, and that all statements declared as facts are based on thorough examination and investigation for accurateness.
- Submitted abstracts should not have been published in any other journals and/or online publications nor presented at any previous international congress. However, former presentation at national meetings and/or non-cardiovascular specialists’ meetings does not disqualify.

A submitter, presenter or co-author submitting or presenting published work will lead to the withdrawal of the presentation/abstract from the Press Conference and/or Scientific Programme. 
        - Submitted abstracts must report new information not previously published or presented at a national or international scientific meeting prior to the Congress. Note that abstracts previously presented at meetings will not be accepted unless there is a substantial update of data.
The content belongs to the author(s). However, if the abstract is accepted the submitter agrees, on behalf of all co-authors, to transfer and assign to the ESC free of charge, on a non-exclusive basis, for twenty years from the present submission the rights to edit, publish, reproduce, reformat, distribute in whole or in part the abstract and prepare all type of derivative works such as press releases and/or educational products, using all communication tools and means, now known or hereinafter developed, including any and all digital means and any and all supports or forms of media, now known or hereinafter developed, in particular all paper, analog, digital, numerical and electronic media, including Internet, Intranet and Extranet sites and social media. This includes use in indexes or search databases in print, electronic, or other media.
Author(s) retain the right, after presentation, to subsequently include the work in articles, books, or derivative works that he/she authors or edits, provided said use does not imply the endorsement of the ESC.
The submitter signs for all co-authors. He/she accepts responsibility for the present rules for submission and presentation on behalf of all co-authors.

Conflict(s) of interest -
The Congress Programme Committee requests all presenters to disclose their potential conflict(s) of interest at the time of acceptance of presentation (agreement form submission). 
It is also the responsibility of the presenter to disclose any potential conflict(s) of interest from co-authors pertaining to the presentation on the presentation itself (as may be required).
This will allow the audience to take potential conflicts of interest into account when assessing the objectivity of the presentation.
A potential conflict of interest may arise from various relationships, past or present, such as employment, consultancy, investments and stock ownership, funding for research, family relationship, etc.
All related potential conflicts of interest must be stated. 
This pertains to relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the article. Such relationships include, but are not limited to, employment by an industrial concern, ownership of stock, membership on a standing advisory council or committee, being on the board of directors, or being publicly associated with the company or its products. Other areas of real or perceived conflict of interest could include receiving honoraria or consulting fees or receiving grants or funds from such corporations or individuals representing such corporations.

Data Privacy -
By certifying that you have read these Submission rules, you also confirm having received the prior approval from the co-authors to provide their data to the ESC. 
The information collected in this CALL FOR ABSTRACTS is subject to data processing to proceed with the elaboration of FCVB 2022 abstract programme.
Provision of personal data is a statutory requirement to list the authors who have contributed to the research submitted. Authors not listed in the submission will not be acknowledged in the abstract if accepted for publication and presentation at the Congress and promotion of the abstract.
The recipients of the data are ESC Staff who process the submissions and the ESC Committees and volunteers involved in the abstract programme. 
Data collected will be kept for 20 years. 
Transfer of personal data to ESC Staff, contractors as well as other ESC related scientific organisations occurs for production, promotion and dissemination of the Congress Content. 
In accordance with the chapter 3 of the European Regulation 2016/679 with regards to data protection, you have the right to request from ESC, access to and rectification or erasure of your personal data or restriction of processing concerning your data or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability. This is done thru withdrawal of the abstract according to the terms and conditions of withdrawal.
For such, please contact (together with a proof of identity):
Data Privacy
European Society of Cardiology
Les Templiers
2035 Route des Colles
CS 80179 Biot
06903 SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS CEDEX, France
Or by email to dataprivacy@escardio.org 
You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, and for information, ESC has appointed a Data Protection Officer that you can reach at dpo@escardio.org

Applicable law -
All the rules pertaining to the present submission are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of France without regard to any conflicts of laws principles thereof that would require the application of the law of any other jurisdiction. Any disputes arising in relation hereto shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the French Tribunal de Grande Instance located in Grasse, France.