Circulation Submission Process
Circulation's submission process, first-decision timing, and the editorial checks that matter before peer review begins.
Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disease
Author context
Works across cardiovascular biology and metabolic disease, with expertise in navigating high-impact journal submission requirements for Circulation, JACC, and European Heart Journal.
Readiness scan
Before you submit to Circulation, pressure-test the manuscript.
Run the Free Readiness Scan to catch the issues most likely to stop the paper before peer review.
How to approach Circulation
Use the submission guide like a working checklist. The goal is to make fit, package completeness, and cover-letter framing obvious before you open the portal.
Stage | What to check |
|---|---|
1. Scope | Pre-submission inquiry (optional, recommended for reviews) |
2. Package | Full submission via AHA portal |
3. Cover letter | Editorial triage |
4. Final check | Peer review |
Decision cue: Circulation's submission process has one unusual feature that saves authors time: the first submission is format-free. Do not waste days perfecting AMA citation style before you know whether the paper will be reviewed. Get the Clinical Perspective box right, get the abstract structured, and let the science make the first case.
Quick answer
Circulation uses the AHA Journals submission site. Initial submissions are format-free, meaning you do not need to follow the journal's detailed formatting rules until revision. The median time from submission to first decision is about 17 days. Roughly 60 to 70% of submissions are desk rejected within 1 to 2 weeks. The acceptance rate for original research is approximately 7%.
The Clinical Perspective box is mandatory and non-negotiable. It is one of the first things editors read.
Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
Upload via AHA portal | Manuscript enters the system | Same day |
Editorial triage | Editor-in-chief and associate editors assess | 1 to 2 weeks |
Peer review | 2 to 3 expert reviewers evaluate | 2 to 4 weeks |
Statistical review | If paper moves to revision, statistical review begins | Concurrent with editorial decision |
Decision | Accept, revise, or reject | ~17 days median from submission |
Revision | Authors revise with full formatting | 3 months (major), 6 weeks (minor) |
Publication | Ahead of print within 7 to 10 days of acceptance | 81 days to print |
Before you open the portal
The AHA submission site is at circ-submit.aha-journals.org. You need an account on the AHA Journals submission system.
For the initial submission, you do NOT need to follow detailed formatting rules. But you DO need:
- complete author list with ORCID identifiers
- structured abstract (350 words maximum)
- Clinical Perspective box (mandatory, see below)
- conflict of interest disclosures for all authors
- data sharing statement
- continuous line numbering in the manuscript
- supplemental material (submitted simultaneously, included in review)
- clinical trial registration number (if applicable, must be registered before enrollment)
The Clinical Perspective box
This is Circulation-specific and required for all original research submissions. It consists of two sections:
What Is New? (maximum 100 words, 2 to 3 bullet points)
State what the paper adds to existing knowledge. Each bullet should be one complete sentence.
What Are the Clinical Implications? (maximum 100 words, 2 to 3 bullet points)
State how the findings affect clinical practice or understanding. Each bullet should be one complete sentence.
Paragraph format is not accepted. It must be bulleted. Editors use this box to quickly assess whether the paper changes clinical thinking. A weak Clinical Perspective signals that the clinical consequence is unclear, which is exactly what gets papers desk rejected.
Step-by-step submission flow
1. Log in and start new submission
Go to the AHA submission portal, log in, and select Circulation as the target journal.
2. Select article type
Common types for original research:
- Original Research Article: full-length study reporting new clinical or translational findings
- Research Letter: shorter format for time-sensitive or focused results
- Review: invited or open, comprehensive treatment of a cardiovascular topic
Select the type that matches your manuscript. Each type has different requirements at the revision stage, but the initial submission is format-free for original research.
3. Enter metadata and author information
Provide the title, structured abstract, author list, and ORCID identifiers. All authors must have ORCID registered.
4. Upload manuscript with Clinical Perspective
Upload the manuscript file with continuous line numbering. The Clinical Perspective box must be included in the manuscript file itself, not as a separate document.
5. Upload supplemental material
All supplemental material must be submitted with the initial manuscript. It is included in peer review. Do not plan to add supplemental material after the first submission.
6. Complete disclosures and data sharing
All authors must disclose conflicts of interest. Provide a data sharing statement describing how other researchers can access the underlying data. Circulation takes data transparency seriously.
7. Submit
The initial submission does not require perfect AMA formatting. Reviewers and editors need to evaluate the science, not the citation style. Save the detailed formatting for revision.
What happens during editorial triage
Circulation's desk rejection rate is 60 to 70%. This is the biggest filter. The editor-in-chief or an associate editor reads the manuscript and Clinical Perspective to decide whether external review is warranted.
Editors are asking:
- does this paper change clinical practice or cardiovascular understanding?
- is the study design strong enough to support the claims?
- is the clinical consequence visible and concrete?
- does the Clinical Perspective box make the case quickly?
- is the topic relevant to Circulation's broad cardiovascular readership?
Desk rejections typically arrive within 1 to 2 weeks. The process is deliberately fast so authors can redirect without long delays.
Papers that pass triage are assigned to an associate editor who selects reviewers.
What happens during peer review
Papers sent for review go to 2 to 3 expert reviewers with typical turnaround of 2 to 4 weeks. If the paper is promising, it also goes to a statistical reviewer who evaluates the analytical methods independently.
Reviewers evaluate:
- originality and scientific quality
- clinical significance and practice implications
- study design, methodology, and statistical analysis
- whether the conclusions are proportional to the evidence
- topical relevance to the cardiovascular community
Understanding the decision
- Accept: rare on first round at Circulation.
- Minor revision: the paper is essentially accepted pending specific changes. You have 6 weeks. Full AMA formatting is required at this stage.
- Major revision: substantive concerns. You have 3 months. The statistical review results will be included with the decision letter. Full formatting required.
- Reject: the paper does not meet Circulation's threshold. The letter may suggest a more appropriate AHA journal (Circulation Research, Circulation: Heart Failure, etc.).
At revision, you must switch from format-free to Circulation's detailed style (AMA references, specific heading structure, figure formatting requirements). This is intentional: authors only invest in formatting after the paper has cleared the hardest filter.
What the status updates mean
- Submitted: your manuscript is in the system
- With Editor: an associate editor is reviewing or selecting reviewers
- Under Review: sent to external reviewers
- Required Reviews Complete: reviewers have returned reports
- Decision Pending: editor is making a final recommendation
- Decision Made: check your email
If "With Editor" persists beyond 3 weeks without moving to "Under Review," the paper is likely in the desk rejection queue.
Common process mistakes
Writing the Clinical Perspective as an afterthought
This is the most common mistake. Authors spend months on the methods and results, then write the Clinical Perspective in five minutes before submission. Editors can tell. The box should articulate a genuine shift in clinical understanding, not restate the abstract in bullet form.
Formatting perfectly for the initial submission
Circulation explicitly allows format-free first submissions. If you spend days perfecting AMA style before knowing whether the paper will be reviewed, you may have wasted that time. Get the science right. Format at revision.
Missing the supplemental material at initial submission
Unlike some journals that allow supplemental material to be added later, Circulation requires it at initial submission. If your supplemental data, methods, or tables are not ready, the submission is not ready.
Overclaiming clinical implications
Circulation editors are cardiologists and cardiovascular scientists who recognize when clinical claims outpace the evidence. An observational study described as "practice-changing" without a mechanistic or interventional basis will trigger skepticism at triage.
How Circulation compares to nearby alternatives
Feature | Circulation | JACC | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Scope | Broad cardiovascular clinical research | Basic and translational cardiovascular science | Broad cardiovascular (European focus) | Clinical cardiology, interventional |
Acceptance rate | ~7% | ~15% | ~10% | ~10% |
First decision | ~17 days median | ~30 days | ~21 days | ~14 days |
Clinical Perspective | Required (bulleted) | Not required | Translational Outlook required | Central Illustration required |
Best for | Practice-changing clinical cardiovascular research | Mechanistic cardiovascular studies | European or global cardiovascular trials | Interventional and clinical cardiology |
Choose when | The result directly changes clinical practice | The contribution is mechanistic, not clinical | The audience is European or global | The focus is clinical decision-making in cardiology |
Submit if
- the study changes clinical practice or cardiovascular understanding in a concrete way
- the Clinical Perspective box makes the case in 6 bullets or fewer
- the data sharing statement is concrete
- the study design can withstand independent statistical review
- the structured abstract is under 350 words
Think twice if
- the clinical consequence is real but too narrow for a broad cardiovascular audience
- the study is translational or mechanistic rather than clinical (consider Circulation Research)
- the Clinical Perspective reads as a restatement of the abstract
- supplemental material is not yet ready
- the result would fit better at a cardiology subspecialty journal
Before you submit, check your readiness score with a free scan. It takes about 60 seconds and evaluates methodology, citations, and journal fit.
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