Publication Guide
The American Heart Association (AHA) is the leading US cardiovascular society and one of the most influential specialty publishers in medicine. Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the AHA - together with its American Stroke Association (ASA) division - publishes 13 peer-reviewed journals covering every corner of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular science, from the flagship Circulation (established 1950) to subspecialty titles in heart failure, electrophysiology, imaging, and population health.
Twelve of the titles are published in partnership with Wolters Kluwer as part of the Lippincott journal portfolio (a relationship dating to 1988 and extended again in March 2026); the fully open-access Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) is published with Wiley. All titles live on the shared AHA/ASA Journals platform at ahajournals.org. This guide covers which journal fits your paper, the open-access routes and APCs, peer review, and how to submit.
Which AHA journal fits your paper?
The portfolio is organized by subdiscipline and by selectivity, so the right venue depends on both your topic and how broad you want your audience to be.
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have a major clinical trial or high-impact cardiovascular study | Circulation - the AHA flagship since 1950 and one of the most-cited journals in cardiovascular medicine. Very selective. |
| Report basic or translational cardiovascular science | Circulation Research - the AHA's basic-science flagship, or Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) for vascular biology. |
| Work on cerebrovascular disease or stroke care | Stroke - the leading stroke journal - or the fully-OA Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN) for interventional work. |
| Study blood pressure or hypertension | Hypertension - the definitive journal in the field. |
| Want a broad-scope Gold OA cardiovascular venue | Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) - fully open access, indexed in PubMed, with a lower member APC. |
| Have subspecialty clinical work | One of the six Circulation subspecialty journals - Heart Failure; Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology; Cardiovascular Imaging; Cardiovascular Interventions; Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes; Genomic and Precision Medicine. |
What the AHA actually publishes
13 peer-reviewed journals, all in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular medicine:
- Circulation - the flagship clinical journal, publishing major trials, guidelines, and AHA scientific statements.
- Circulation Research - basic and translational cardiovascular science.
- Stroke and Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology - the ASA's cerebrovascular titles; SVIN is fully open access.
- Hypertension and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology - the definitive venues in their fields.
- Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) - the broad-scope, fully open-access title.
- Six Circulation subspecialty journals - Heart Failure; Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology; Cardiovascular Imaging; Cardiovascular Interventions; Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes; Genomic and Precision Medicine.
The AHA also publishes clinical practice guidelines and scientific statements, most of which appear in Circulation, Stroke, or Hypertension.
Open access & APCs
The AHA offers three OA routes across the portfolio:
- Gold OA (fully-OA journals) - JAHA and SVIN publish everything open access under CC BY or CC BY-NC licenses.
- Hybrid OA - the subscription titles (Circulation, Stroke, Hypertension, etc.) offer a paid open-access option per article.
- Green OA (self-archiving) - accepted-manuscript self-archiving is permitted, with per-title embargo terms.
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| JAHA (Gold OA) | $3,810 per article | AHA/ASA members pay 1,030; no submission fee |
| SVIN (Gold OA) | See journal fees page | Fully open access; added to the Wolters Kluwer partnership in 2026 |
| Hybrid OA on subscription titles | Priced per journal | Typically higher than JAHA; confirm on the journal's OA page after acceptance |
| Subscription route | $0 | No mandatory publication fee on the 11 subscription/hybrid titles |
Automatic APC waivers apply for corresponding authors in eligible low-income countries, and institutional read-and-publish agreements through Wolters Kluwer or Wiley may cover the fee entirely - check with your library before paying. Prices are revised periodically, so always confirm on the journal's current fees page.
Peer review process
- Model: single-anonymized peer review is standard across the AHA/ASA journals.
- Editorial standards: the AHA is a member of COPE, OASPA, and STM; trials must be registered, and reporting checklists (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA) are enforced at submission.
- Selectivity: Circulation, Circulation Research, Stroke, and Hypertension are highly selective; JAHA and the subspecialty titles offer broader scope. Rejected manuscripts can often be transferred to another AHA journal without reformatting.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Match your paper's scope and selectivity using the family guide above.
- Read the Instructions for Authors. Each title has its own author page at ahajournals.org/journal/authors.
- Format the manuscript. AHA journals use AMA-style numbered references; SciSpace templates handle the formatting automatically.
- Submit via ScholarOne. Each journal runs its own ScholarOne Manuscripts portal, and the AHA offers a multi-journal submission option so one submission can be considered by several AHA titles.
- Complete compliance items. Trial registration IDs, ethics statements, disclosures, and reporting checklists are verified at submission.
Ethics and integrity
The AHA journals follow COPE guidance on corrections, retractions, and authorship disputes, and require conflict-of-interest disclosure from all authors. Data-sharing statements are required for clinical trials, in line with ICMJE policy. As a mission-driven non-profit, the AHA reinvests publishing revenue into cardiovascular research funding and public-health programs.
