Abstracts and Awards – Vascular Discovery 2025

OPENS: January 20, 2025

CLOSES: February 3, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. CST.

General Information

• The American Heart Association’s Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine 2025 Scientific Sessions is a forum for presentation of novel research findings. The work covered by the abstract must not have been published (manuscript or abstract) before the date and time of presentation (April 22-25, 2025).
• There is a non-refundable member processing fee of US $49 for each abstract submitted. The fee covers administration and online costs associated with the submission, grading, notification and slotting processes.
• After the submission deadline, abstracts are no longer accessible and therefore may not be revised in any way or resubmitted. Proofread abstracts carefully to avoid errors before submission. If accepted, your abstract will be published as submitted.
• Abstract grading is blinded, and abstracts are selected on the basis of scientific merit.
• Abstract acceptance/non-acceptance status will be available in late February. Please ensure that the email provided is accurate as all correspondences will be sent via email.
• Accepted abstracts will be published exactly as it has been submitted in the online version of the ATVB Journal.
• Abstract Copyright Transfer Agreement will be electronically signed during submission. Your selection of "Yes" grants permission to publish. Your selection of "No" prohibits publication of abstract.
• All abstract withdrawal requests must be received in writing via email to [email protected] by March 24, 2025.
• All accepted abstracts will be scheduled either in an oral or poster presentation. If you do not want your abstract to be scheduled as an oral presentation, select "Poster Presentation only" under presentation format preference in the abstract submitter.
• All presentations and question-and-answer sessions will be conducted in English. Presenters may request assistance from the moderator, who will repeat or rephrase questions from the audience or may ask a colleague in the audience to assist with translation.
• The presenting author of an accepted abstract must register for the meeting. Abstract presenters need to register in the appropriate category (AHA member,nonmember, etc.) and pay the appropriate fees under each category.
• All expenses associated with the submission and presentation of an abstract are theresponsibility of the presenter.
• For questions regarding the submission guidelines, please contact [email protected] to reach an AHA programming staff member.

Rules for Submitting an Abstract

• Abstract data may not be presented at a national or international meeting or world congress before the date and time of presentation (April 22-25, 2025).
• If the abstract is submitted to more than one meeting, investigators must include new and scientifically meaningful information at time of submission to the AHA.
• If identical abstracts are accepted for two meetings, then one must be withdrawn and AHA staff must be notified. If acceptance of a previously presented abstract is discovered prior to presentation, it will be withdrawn, and acceptance of future abstracts will be jeopardized. If dual presentation of identical abstracts is discovered after presentation, the acceptance of future abstracts may be jeopardized, and any award associated with the abstract will be withdrawn.
• If the accepted abstract is submitted as a paper for publication, note that rapid publication has become the norm and investigators are responsible for coordinating simultaneous publication with other journals. If publication occurs online or in print before the time of presentation, then the abstract must be withdrawn. Please notify AHA staff by sending an email to [email protected].
• Submission of an abstract constitutes a commitment by the author(s) to present it if accepted. Failure to present, if not justified, will jeopardize future acceptance of abstracts for the American Heart Association.
• There is no limit to the number of abstracts an investigator may submit. If selected, the presenter must be one of the co-authors listed.
• The work covered by the abstract must not have been presented at a national or international meeting before presentation at Vascular Discovery 2025, unless the submission includes incremental information from the abstract presented elsewhere to justify submission and presentation at the AHA. Each investigator will determine, in good conscience, what constitutes incremental information.
• Abstracts associated with a published manuscript can be presented at an AHA scientific event if the manuscript was published after the time the abstract was submitted to the event, however the abstract will not be published as a part of the journal publication.

Embargo Policy

Abstract results and presentations are prohibited from release until date and time of AHA designated embargo time. For most abstracts, that embargo will be date and time of presentation but for some, the embargo will be the time of a specific AHA news media event. You will be contacted by AHA communications if you are selected to participate in an AHA news event.

Further, written embargoed information cannot be share with anyone outside of AHA with the exception of journal manuscript submission but you can conduct one-on-one embargoed media interviews as long as the reporter agrees to abide by the embargo policy. Failure to honor embargo policies will result in this abstract being withdrawn and future abstracts also being barred from presentation. View the complete AHA/ASA General Embargo Policy.

Preparing an Abstract

Abstract Title

An abstract must have a succinct and objective title indicating and consistent with the purpose of the investigation (refrain from using abbreviations or divulging study findings or results).

Author Name(s)

• The submitting author is designated as the primary/presenting author. You may rearrange the order of the authors; however, always list the senior author last.
• If an author's name appears on more than one abstract, it must be identical oneach abstract.
• Additions or deletions of author names are not permitted after submission deadline-NO EXCEPTIONS.
• All author names should be carefully reviewed for accuracy. If the abstract isaccepted and eventually published, changes cannot be made after publication.

Abstract Data

• All abstracts must be submitted (and will be presented) in English with accurate grammar and spelling suitable for publication. Abstracts must contain original material neither published nor presented elsewhere prior to Vascular Discovery 2025 (in print or electronically).
• Authors should not "split" data to create several abstracts from one. If splitting is judged to have occurred, priority scores of related abstracts will be reduced.
• Abstracts containing identical or nearly identical data submitted from the same institution and/or individuals will be disqualified.
• Proofread abstracts carefully to avoid errors before submission. The abstract will be published exactly as it has been submitted – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Abstract Text

• Abstracts may have the following identifiable sections, but they are not mandatory: Introduction, Hypothesis, Methods, Results and Conclusions
• Briefly describe the objectives of the study unless they are contained in the title.Include a brief statement of methods if pertinent. State findings in detail sufficientto support conclusions. Abstracts should not describe research in which thechemical identity or source of the reagent is proprietary or cannot be revealed.
• Use generic drug names.
• Do not begin sentences with numerals.
• Standard abbreviations may be used without definition. Nonstandard abbreviations(kept to a minimum) must be placed in parentheses after the first use of the word orphrase abbreviated.
• Do not include references, credits or grant support.
• Do not include the names or personal information of any patient participating inthe study or trial.
• Abstracts are limited to 1,950 characters (about 300-350 words). This includes the text plus any graphics, but not the title or authors. All graphics (figures) and text-based graphics (tables) should be provided as 72-300 dpi, pre-sized .gif, .jpg or .tifimages only, with a maximum width of 440 pixels (no limit on length). Black-and-white digital images should be in grayscale mode. Color images should be saved inRGB color mode. Addition of an image whether a figure or a table deducts 250characters. Spaces do not count as characters.
• If an abstract accepted for publication, any images submitted with the abstract are placed after the abstract that will appear online in the ATVB Journal.

Abstract Acceptance

• Guidelines for abstract presentation will be provided to the presenting author of accepted abstracts by late-March via email.
• No person may record any portion of the AHA Scientific Sessions, Scientific Conferences and ASA Stroke Conference, whether by video, still or digital photography; audio; or any other recording or reproduction mechanism. This includes recording of presentations and supporting A/V materials and of poster presentations and supporting poster materials.
• Additionally, science information shared by investigators at the time of a meeting is confidential and often unpublished data. Taking photos of or recording the content of slides is also prohibited and is considered intellectual piracy and unethical. Attendees who ignore this policy will be asked to leave the educational session and are at risk of losing their badge credentials.
• The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association reserve the rights to all recordings or reproductions of presentations at AHA/ASA scientific conferences and meetings.
• The AHA reserves the right to all video or audio recordings of presentations at the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions 2025.

The suggestions below are intended to provide guidance on abstract writing.

Title
To the extent the data permits, make the title dynamic and conclusive, rather than descriptive. For example, "Hypoxia Inhibits Kv1.5 Channels in Rat Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells" is preferable to "Effects of Hypoxia on Kv1.5 Channels." Explicit titles denoting the findings should be used (not "Investigations of…," "Studies of…," etc.)

Structure
Abstracts should have the following identifiable sections: Introduction, Hypothesis, Methods, Results and Conclusions.

Abbreviations
Abbreviations may be used after they are spelled out or defined. Use generic, not commercial, names for all therapeutic agents.

Category
Be sure to select the correct abstract category. Category selection determines which team grades the abstract. If you select the appropriate category, your abstract will be blindly graded by experts familiar with the science of the category.

Common mistakes

1. Failure to state the hypothesis. We advise a formal statement such as, "We assessed the hypothesis that…"
2. Failure to state a conclusion. We encourage a final sentence that says: "In conclusion…"
3. Failure to state sample size. The reviewers want to assess the quality of the data – they need a mean SEM and a sample size.
4. Excessive use of abbreviations. All but the most standard abbreviations should be defined, and most abstracts should have less than 3 abbreviations.

Traps to avoid

1. Typographical errors
2. References cited in the abstract
3. Not providing context or a statement of relevance that provides the rationale for your study.
4. Complex graphics. Simple line or bar graphs are most appropriate. Ensure the font size is adequately large on each axis to be visible. Check a printed version of the abstract before submitting.
5. Duplicative work

Remember: Make sure your abstract is clear, concise, and follows all rules. Show your abstract to a colleague prior to submission and modify accordingly. A fresh pair of eyes will help spot any errors and will ensure the final package is ready for submission.