Get your Heart Rhythm 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 13 August, 2026
Submitting to Heart Rhythm goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Heart Rhythm 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 Heart Rhythm. 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 Heart Rhythm 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 Heart Rhythm 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 Heart Rhythm 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 | Heart Rhythm requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Clinical and Experimental articles: Structured abstract of fewer than 250 words, divided into sections: Background, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Contemporary Reviews: Unstructured abstract of up to 150 words. All other article types (Creative Concepts, Case Reports, Images, Unknown of the Month, Letters to the Editor, etc.): No abstract should be included |
| Main text | Original Clinical/Experimental: Prefer not to exceed 5,000 words (includes all text: title page, keywords, abstract, main text, references, acknowledgments, funding, tables, figure legends). Longer articles may be submitted but editors may request shortening. Contemporary Reviews: Prefer shorter than 6,000 words including references and tables. Creative Concepts: Must be <4,000 total words including references and tables. Case Reports (Corner sections): Limited to 2,500 words including text, references, and figure legends. Images (Corner sections): Limited to 450 words total. Research Letters: 800 words (not including references or title page). Letters to the Editor: Not exceed 400 words including references |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 5-10 keywords required (using American spelling, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts) |
| References | Numbered citation style using consecutive superscript Arabic numerals in the order of appearance. List first 6 authors; if more than 6 authors, list first 3 followed by et al. Abbreviations for periodicals follow Index Medicus style. References double spaced, same font size as manuscript |
| Peer review | Single blind review process (also described as single-anonymous review) |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jhrm |
Read the Heart Rhythm 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 Heart Rhythm in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Heart Rhythm 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 Heart Rhythm journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Heart Rhythm guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.