Get your ESC Heart Failure paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to ESC Heart Failure goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the ESC Heart Failure guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to ESC Heart Failure. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the ESC Heart Failure journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the ESC Heart Failure guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the ESC Heart Failure guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | ESC Heart Failure requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Research Article: Structured abstract required, maximum 250 words. Structured under headings: 1. Introduction, 2. Methods, 3. Results, 4. Discussion. / Review Article: Unstructured abstract required, maximum 250 words. / Study Design: Structured abstract required, maximum 250 words. Structured under headings: Introduction, Study Design, Discussion. / Short Report: Structured abstract required, maximum 250 words. Structured under headings: Background (about 100 words), Aims (about 50 words), Methods (about 300 words), Results (about 300 words), and Conclusion (about 250 words). / Clinical Correspondence: Not permitted. / Editorial Comment: None. / Viewpoint: None. / Letter to the Editor: Not permitted. / Statement: Text abstract, up to 250 words. / General: Abstracts should not exceed 250 words and should not contain references or abbreviations |
| Main text | Research Article: Maximum 4,000 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Review Article: Maximum 6,000 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Study Design: Maximum 3,500 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Short Report: Maximum 1,500 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Clinical Correspondence: Maximum 1,200 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Editorial Comment: Maximum 1,500 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Viewpoint: Maximum 1,500 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Letter to the Editor: Maximum 750 words (excluding title, abstracts, legends, and references). / Statement: Not applicable |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Required, maximum of 6 keywords for all article types (Research Article, Review Article, Study Design, Short Report, Clinical Correspondence, Editorial Comment, Viewpoint, Letter to the Editor, Statement) |
| References | Vancouver style (author-number system). All references should be compiled at the end of the article |
| Peer review | Single anonymized peer review (single-blind): the identity of the authors is known to the editors and reviewers, but reviewers' identities are known only to the editors and hidden from the authors |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/eurjhf/default.aspx |
Read the ESC Heart Failure guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to ESC Heart Failure in under a page.
Skim two or three recent ESC Heart Failure papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the ESC Heart Failure journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the ESC Heart Failure guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.