Circulation Research 'Under Review': What Each Status Means

Before the paper reaches external reviewers, an AHA senior editor at Circulation Research evaluates whether the basic-cardiovascular mechanism warrants Circulation Research's selective editorial slots. Roughly 70 to 75 percent of submissions either receive a desk rejection or are routed to an AHA family journal at this stage. A desk rejection most often means the senior editor concluded that the work would fit better at a sister AHA family title (Circulation for broader clinical implications, ATVB for vascular-specific work, Stroke for cerebrovascular focus) or that the basic-cardiovascular mechanism depth is insufficient for Circulation Research's bar.

The AHA editorial office confirms files are complete: manuscript with figures embedded, supplementary information separate, reporting checklists where applicable (ARRIVE for animal work, MIQE for quantitative PCR), cover letter directed to the editor, conflict-of-interest declarations, ethics-statement documentation including IACUC approval for vertebrate animal work, and author-suggested reviewer list (at least 5 potential reviewers, up to 3 exclusions).

The senior editor reads the paper and evaluates basic-cardiovascular mechanism significance, novelty, and AHA family fit (Circulation Research vs Circulation vs ATVB vs Stroke). AHA family triage happens during desk review per AHA editorial guidance.

In parallel with the senior editor's primary read, ambiguous-fit papers are considered for AHA family routing. The senior editor may route to Circulation (for broader clinical-cardiology implications), Circulation: Heart Failure (HF-specific), or other AHA family titles during desk review. This routing decision runs alongside the desk-screen and saves the author a separate cascade submission.

AHA senior editors at Circulation Research typically invite 2 to 3 external reviewers from the author-suggested list. The author-suggested reviewer model accelerates recruitment substantially because senior editors do not need to find reviewers independently. The recruitment window can take 5 to 10 days because qualified cardiovascular reviewers must accept the invitation.

Once reviewers agree to review, the typical Circulation Research peer-review cycle lasts 2 to 3 weeks per reviewer, contributing to AHA's <21-day editorial-decision target for Regular Articles. Reviewers are asked to evaluate basic-cardiovascular mechanism depth, methodological rigor, in-vivo or human-validation depth, and reproducibility. Reviewer reports for Circulation Research tend to be thorough; 2000 to 3500 word reports are typical.

After reports return, the senior editor synthesizes them. An editorial decision is communicated by email and typically made in fewer than 21 days for Regular Articles per AHA editorial guidance. All Original Research articles are published Online First within 24 hours of acceptance.

• Rejection within 1 to 5 days: Administrative issue or immediate scope mismatch.
• Rejection within 1 to 2 weeks: Senior editor desk rejection or AHA family routing. Most rejections happen here.
• Still Under Review after 3 weeks: Strong signal. Paper passed the steepest AHA filter.
• Still Under Review after 8 weeks: Reviewer-recruitment or reviewer-report delay despite the <21-day target. A polite inquiry via the submission portal is appropriate.
• Status changes to "Reports Received": Reports are in; expect a decision within 1 week.

This is the most common anxiety we hear from Circulation Research authors during the active editorial window. The honest answer: no, 4 weeks at Under Review suggests your paper is past the desk screen and reports are in editorial synthesis. Circulation Research's <21-day first-decision target for Regular Articles means 4 weeks puts you past the median first-decision window. The most likely explanation for the delay is that one of the assigned reviewers asked for an extension and the senior editor granted it, or that the senior editor invited a third reviewer to break a split opinion. This is normal practice at AHA.

What you should NOT do during the 4-to-6-week window is email the editorial office. AHA senior editors at Circulation Research are managing 40+ active papers; an inquiry at 4 weeks adds friction without accelerating the timeline.

If your Circulation Research paper is rejected after review, the natural cascade depends on what the reviewers and senior editor cited:

Circulation is the most natural AHA cascade for papers where the basic-cardiovascular mechanism has broader clinical implications. AHA family routing during triage often handles this before formal rejection. The transfer process happens within the AHA family.

Cardiovascular Research (ESC) is the European cardiology cascade option for basic-cardiovascular papers. ESC operates independently from AHA; reports do not transfer.

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) is the AHA family cascade for vascular-specific basic research where the mechanism focus is narrower than Circulation Research's bar.

Nature Cardiovascular Research is a Nature Portfolio cascade option for top-tier basic-cardiovascular papers where the Nature Portfolio publishing model is preferred. Nature Portfolio operates independently.

AHA asks reviewers at Circulation Research to evaluate four things specifically. The table below maps each to actionable preparation.

Three patterns generate the most consistent reviewer concerns we see at Circulation Research.

Mechanism without orthogonal confirmation. When the central cardiovascular mechanism rests on one experimental approach, Circulation Research reviewers consistently request a second orthogonal validation. The strongest revisions add complementary perturbation modalities.

In-vitro-only studies lacking in-vivo or human-validation depth. When the mechanism is established only in cell-culture systems without animal model or human-sample validation, reviewer consultation often extends. The strongest revisions add in-vivo perturbation phenotyping or patient-cohort correlation data.

AHA family routing flagged by senior editor. When the senior editor concludes the work is sound but the basic-cardiovascular mechanism is narrower than Circulation Research's bar, family routing to ATVB or other AHA family titles is common during desk review.

This page was created from AHA's public author guidance at ahajournals.org/res/author-instructions, AHA editorial-process documentation, Circulation Research editorial-speed data (<21-day target for Regular Articles, 5 author-suggested reviewers), and Manusights pre-submission review experience with Circulation Research-targeted manuscripts.

For the AHA cardiovascular landscape beyond Circulation Research, see Circulation (broad clinical cardiology), Circulation: Heart Failure (HF-specific), ATVB (vascular-specific), and JAHA (open-access AHA). The choice across these titles depends on whether the central contribution is basic-cardiovascular-mechanism (Circulation Research), broad-clinical-cardiology (Circulation), HF-specific (Circulation: Heart Failure), vascular-specific (ATVB), or open-access (JAHA).

Reviewers at Circulation Research typically draw from one basic-cardiovascular-mechanism expert and one broader-cardiology specialist. Preparing a response template that addresses both perspectives accelerates revision rounds substantially.

For a pre-upload check of your manuscript against the Circulation Research basic-cardiovascular-mechanism-plus-orthogonal-validation bar before submission, our Circulation Research pre-submission diagnostic flags the mechanism-depth and in-vivo-validation gaps most likely to surface in reviewer reports.