1. Salutations are only used in correspondence. Please select the American English version that is appropriate from the choices in the pull down menu.
2. Please use American English characters when entering your name and eliminate any non-English characters such as tildes and umlauts.
3. Names and initials should be properly capitalized. Names should not be all upper or lower case.
4. Punctuation (a period) is added to all initial fields. The fields for initials do not need to be filled in unless you want an initial included as part of your name in the final program. Only this first initial will be published. You may use as many or as few as you wish. Leave unused initial fields blank if you do not use them.
5. Suffix is the field used to distinguish intergeneration names. Examples are Jr. (Junior), Sr. (Senior), and III (third). Most individuals will leave this field blank.
6. E-mail addresses are not validated for correctness. Please make sure the address is properly formatted with no spaces, only one @ sign, and only periods (.) not commas (,).
7. Phone and fax numbers should be provided which will allow ACC staff members to contact you during daytime hours from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
8. ACC uses a “single sign-on” interface to improve the efficiency of the registration process. The name entered in the passgate system should be the person/author who will present the abstract if selected. This information will automatically prepopulate the abstract submission system. Notification of acceptance will be sent to this person. During the acceptance process, there will be an opportunity to change presenter author information, if so desired. 
    

III. Entering Information
A. Title

1. Do not bold any words in the title.
2. Do not include authors in the title. If you enter authors in the title, they will be removed.
3. Do not include institutions in the title. If you enter institutions in the title, they will be removed.
4. Do not use the “Enter” button while in this field. This action will add unwanted carriage returns.
5. Capitalize the first letter of all major words in the title as well as prepositions, articles, and conjunctions of four letters or more.
6. Do not use abbreviations in the title. Abbreviations may be used in the abstract body.
7. Do not underline words in the title.
8. Do not end the title with a period.
9. If the title contains more than one statement, use only one space after a period or colon.
10. Use a comma before “and” in a series.
11. Use a comma for number 1,000 and above.
12. Substitute a colon for a dash/hyphen except when using prefixes.
13. Do not use quote marks in a title.
14. Do not underline, italicize, superscript, or subscript any item in the title.
15. Hyphenate the first prefix word when there is more than one prefix word used such as Non-Anti...
16. For more information about title guidelines see Guidelines.

B. Categories

1. Select one category that is closest to the subject of your late-breaking clinical trial.
2. Late-breaking clinical trials submitted to a category that does not match the subject matter of the late-breaking clinical trial may be given a low score from reviewers.

C. Keywords

1. Select up to three keywords from the list of medical subject headings.
2. Only one keyword is required.
3. Leave unused/unneeded keyword fields blank.
4. Do not enter the same keyword more than once.

D. Authors

1. List the complete name including a full first name and initials. Multiple word first names should be placed in the “First Name” field.
2. Please use American English characters when entering names and eliminate any non-English characters such as tildes and umlauts.
3. Do not include title, degrees, or suffix in the “Last Name” field.
4. Do not enter more than one author in each “First Name” or “Last Name” field. If this is done, you will be contacted to correct this entry.
5. If more than one abstract is submitted, please spell authors in exactly the same manner. This is important when indexing all authors in the listing in the Final Program.
6. Use the author group field only for the name of an investigating team. This is typically something like “Investigators for ACC.” Do not use the author group to list individual authors. If this is done, you will be contacted to correct this entry. Authors entered as an “Author Group” will not be listed in the author index of the Final Program.
7. The author order is the order that authors will be listed in publications if the abstract is selected. The person who is expected to be the presenter does not need to appear as the first author.
8. The person indicated as the presenter must have contact information supplied. If the indicated presenter changes, contact information must be supplied for that presenter. Keep in mind when selecting the presenter that a person may present no more than two abstracts.
9. The contact information is not used as part of the institutions listed in any abstract publication. Institutions are entered in a separate area.
10. The designated presenter is the person notified about the outcome of the review and selection process.

E. Late-breaking Clinical Trials
Important Issues

1. Late-breaking clinical trials MUST conform to specific size limits or they will remain in an incomplete status and will not be reviewed. Your abstract may not contain more than 1,900 characters, not including spaces. A graphic, or a table created with the table generator, equals 600 characters and is included as part of the 1,900 character limit.
2. Use the standard Times New Roman font for text and Symbol font for symbols (DO NOT USE A THIRD-PARTY SYMBOL FONT!); any other fonts will not be accepted. Set all text as flush left, unjustified, and wrapping text as you type. Do NOT place hard returns at the end of each line.

Late-breaking Clinical Trial/Text

1. You may type the body of the abstract directly into the space provided for the abstract body or upload this information by a file created with your word processor. To take advantage of the upload feature, use the following supported formats: Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect (only); Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows and for Macintosh users we recommend Internet Explorer 5.2.3 or Safari 1.0 or 1.2.
2. Do not embed graphics or images in a file you intend to upload. They must be uploaded separately.
3. You may include a table in the body of the abstract by uploading a word processing document that has a table in it. This cannot be a table linked to spreadsheet.
4. You may use five unique abbreviations in the body of the abstract. Spell out the complete phrase followed by the abbreviation in parentheses the first time the abbreviation is used. Abbreviations are not allowed in the title of the abstract.
5. Do not include the title in the abstract body. The title will be collected in the Title Section.
6. Do not include authors and institutions in the abstract body. This data will be collected in the Author Section.
7. The abstract must be presented in the following sequence, using the headings listed:
   (These headings have been setup in the abstract body text for you.)
• Background: In an initial paragraph, provide relevant information regarding the background and purpose of the study, preferably in no more than one or two sentences.
• Methods: Briefly state the methods used.
• Results: Summarize the results in sufficient detail to support the conclusions.
• Conclusion: State the conclusions reached. It is not satisfactory to state “the results will be discussed.”
8. Do not underline, italicize, superscript, or subscript any item in the title.
9. Please proofread carefully for factual, spelling, and size errors. If published, the abstract will appear exactly as the online system confirmation shows.

Tables

1. You may include a table in a file that you upload or create it online using the table generator.
2. It is recommended you create the table in your word processor then use the file upload feature to transfer document to the abstract site. Table generation in a word processor is much easier to accomplish than using the table generator.
3. Do not embed a spreadsheet within your document. Even though it appears as a table, you will not be able to upload the file. You may copy the table from a spreadsheet and then paste it into the word processor as a table instead of a linked spreadsheet. If you are not certain you have done this correctly, please contact technical support at (217) 398-1792.
4. A table equals 600 characters and is included as part of the 1,900 character limit.

Graphics

1. To insure readability of a graphic when viewed during peer review and when published, the following requirements are recommended when submitting a graphic:
• When creating a graphic consider that a graphic is not greater than 3 inches wide (7 centimeters/600 pixels) and 2 inches high (4.9 centimeters/400 pixels)
• It is strongly recommended to use 300 ppi/dpi, the higher the ppd/dpi the better quality of detail when the graphic is printed. A minimum of 72 dots/pixels per inch (ppi/dpi).
• If you need assistance in sizing a graphic please see the additional graphics help section.
2. Graphics should have a file type of “gif”, “jpg”, or “jpeg”. Even though the abstract system may allow you to upload a graphic with a different file type those graphics will not be reviewed or reproduced if the abstract is selected.
3. Do not submit tables as graphics. A table submitted as a graphic will not reproduce well.
4. Do not embed graphics or images in a file you intend to upload. Use the separate graphic upload feature if you wish to include a graphic/image.
5. A graphic equals 600 characters and is included as part of the 1,900 character limit.

Graphics Help Section

1. Graphics that are larger than the guidelines permit will be reduced in size, and if in doing so, are found to be illegible, they could be withheld from publication.
2. There should be no “white space” or border around the graphic.
3. Even though your browser may display a graphic format other than .gif, .jpg, or .jpeg, the graphic will not be reviewed and will be withheld from publication.
4. To properly size and set the resolution you will need a graphics program. Most computers come with a simple paint or graphics application with limited editing and file conversion capabilities.
5. If you need a graphics program, consider downloading the 30-day trial version of PhotoStudio from Arcsoft. Their Web site is www.arcsoft.com. This application is available for both Mac and PC users.
• To edit the image from within the application, select edit then image size.
• Save the image in .jpg format.
• Please note that the trial version will convert/open/save the following file types:
• JPG
• BMP
• TIF
• PNG
• PCX
• TGA
• FPX
• PSD
• PCD
• PSF
• EPS
• Even though the application supports a wide range of file formats, the trial version does not support the .gif format.
• If you have a .gif formatted file you wish to edit, it must be converted to another format first.
• There is no technical support provided for this application.

F. When Is a Submission Considered Complete?

An application is complete and ready for submission when, in the “Review My Work” section, you see the words “This submission is complete.” The abstract is only submitted to reviewers after the deadline date. You may update or make changes to your abstract as long as the system allows you to do so. The date your abstract was last edited may be found in the Review Your Work Section next to the words “Current Date/Time”. This will change each time the abstract is altered.

Late-Breaking Clinical Trial Submission

The Late-Breaking Clinical Trial on-line submission system will open on Friday, November 14, 2008. The deadline for submission is January 7, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A commitment to present trial results must be received by January 23, 2009, in order for the Program Committee to make a final decision. There will be a processing fee for each trial submitted online.

Late-Breaking Clinical Trial Revisions

Revisions to your abstract can be made until January 7, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. No changes will be accepted after this time. If any changes are made prior to the deadline, you must select “Review My Work” from the menu on the left. Make certain that you see the words “This submission is complete.”

Late-Breaking Clinical Trial Withdrawal

To withdraw a submission, written notification (e-mail, fax, or letter) must be sent to:

The American College of Cardiology
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, DC  20037
Phone: (800) 253-4636, ext. 6390
Phone: (202) 375-6390
Fax: (202) 375-6843
hhopper@acc.org

This notification must include abstract title, authours and affiliations (as submitted), the abstract control number, and the name, affiliation, phone, fax and email of the submitter. We recommend using the abstract summary page as part of this notification.

System

Because you have read the policies and procedures and the user instructions, you are now ready to enter your Late-Breaking submission. Click here to go to the online Late-Breaking Submission System.

Once you have touched the link, please save it as a favorite in your Web browser so that you can quickly return to the Late-Breaking Submission System.

Style and Editing Guidelines