HFSA Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting 2020

Abstracts on heart failure research are invited in the following categories:

• Biomarkers / Neurohormones / Cytokines
• Cardiovascular Pharmacology
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Cardiovascular Structure / Imaging
• Clinical Care
• Clinical Trials
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Electrophysiology / Arrhythmias
• Epidemiology / Prevention
• Management Strategies / Adherence / Self Care
• Molecular Biology / Genetics / Cell Therapy
• Performance Improvement Initiatives/Case Studies
• Quality of Care / Outcomes
• Surgery / Transplantation / Devices

About the Awards

HFSA offers three award competitions at its annual meeting that are listed below.

These awards are to recognize research excellence in young trainees and investigators. Finalists will present their work orally in scientific sessions.

Award finalists will be notified in early-August. Monetary awards are provided to first and second place presenters. All award finalists receive complimentary registration.

Note: Case Studies and Performance Improvement Initiative abstracts are not eligible for awards.

Jay N. Cohn New Investigator Award – Basic Science/Clinical

A review committee will choose up to five finalists:

Eligibility:  Candidates must have completed training no earlier than 2019, be first author, and have played a major role in research study being submitted. The finalist must present their research results in respective JNCNI award session during the 2020 HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting.

Nursing Investigator Awards

• Nursing Investigator Award – Research: This award recognizes outstanding and innovative research in the field of heart failure by a nurse researcher. A review committee will choose up to five finalists.
• Nursing Investigator Award – Clinical: This award recognizes outstanding and innovative nurses in the field of heart failure by that are active in clinical nursing research. Up to five finalists are chosen.

Eligibility: Candidates must be a nurse investigator or a student in an accredited nursing program and first author and presenter of the abstract submitted. Candidate cannot be a member of the HFSA Nursing Award Committee. Previous finalists for this award are ineligible. Individuals cannot apply for both the Clinical Excellence in Nursing and Nursing Research Awards in the same year.

Abstracts accepted are embargoed for release until the first day of the Heart Failure Society of America’s Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting.

The standard is that any company can announce at any time the following:

1. Announcement that trial is completed
2. That results will be presented at so and so date in such and such a meeting
3. What did the trials assess – basic design, questions, study population, interventions etc.
4. NO RESULTS AT ALL OR ANY HINT OF RESULTS INDIRECTLY

HFSA will be utilizing ePosters at HFSA 2020. Attendees will be able to view ePosters at any time during the meeting, regardless of day and time. 

Accepted poster authors will receive technical guidelines on how to prepare an ePoster and remote ePoster presentation. capabilities 

With the cancellation of conferences and other limitations due to COVID-19, HFSA is soliciting abstract submissions for encore consideration at the HFSA Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting 2020.

Encore submissions are now closed.

Encore abstract submissions will undergo an anonymous review and selected abstracts will be presented as an ePoster. Selected abstracts will not be published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure or considered for Late Breaking Clinical Trials or Investigator Awards. 

Submission Fees:

• HFSA Member - Free
• Non-HFSA Member - $50

Electronic Submissions

The submission site works optimally with Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Safari version 3.2 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox version 6.0 or higher (some aspects may not work so well with Chrome). The Call for Abstracts screen provides links to this free software. The site is available 24 hours a day. Multiple authors can easily review or work on the abstract from different locations. The site supports graphic images, tables (with special characters/symbols), Greek characters and special symbols.

The 2020 HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting will feature posters, ePosters, oral presentations, oral abstract award sessions, and a special supplemental Issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure with published abstracts. The 2019 full supplement can be viewed here.

ePosters at HFSA2020
In addition to traditional printed posters, HFSA will be utilizing ePosters at the 2020 HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting. An ePoster is a digital presentation of a poster. Attendees will be able to view both ePosters and printed posters at designation viewing areas in the Exhibit Hall during the Annual Scientific Meeting on Friday, October 2 –Sunday, October 4 regardless of day and time of presentations.

Accepted poster authors will receive technical guidelines on how to prepare a PDF document to display properly as an ePoster and printed poster instructions.

Acceptance

1. All abstracts submitted must comply with the guidelines to be considered for acceptance.
2. Abstract grading is blinded. Abstracts are selected on the basis of scientific merit.
3. Acceptance notifications will be sent in early June 2020.
4. Authors will be expected to attend the meeting and present their posters
5.  Authors will receive technical guidelines on how to prepare a PDF document to display properly as an ePoster and printed poster instructions.
6.  Abstracts accepted are embargoed (see embargo policy) for release until the time of   presentation at the Heart Failure Society of America’s Scientific Meeting.
7. Abstracts accepted for presentation will be published as a supplement to the Journal of Cardiac Failure. Authors whose abstracts are accepted give HFSA permission and authority to submit   and publish their abstract, without compensation, in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
8. HFSA reserves the right to all video or audio recordings of presentations at the 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting

Author’s Conflict

If the abstract is selected, author is required to present their research at the annual meeting to be published in JCF.  If they have a conflict, they can allow a co-author present in their place, but will need to notify us in advance.  Notification letters will go out in early August.  They will have approximately 1 week to accept or decline their invitation to present.  If decline, their abstract will not be published in JCF.

Abstracts selected for oral presentation in an award session or a Rapid-Fire session will receive special notification letters with additional information.

To determine if an author has accepted abstract to be presented:  Click on “Notifications” on the home page in ADMIN, then click the title of the Notification that was sent to the author.  Click “Manage Expiration” and then you can locate the authors control or name or email to see if they accepted their invitation [you will need to know which abstract, because an author can submit more than one abstract].  Another way to do this is to do an abstract search using “Advanced Search.”  Click on the session title under the abstract and then locate the abstract within the session to see if they accepted the invitation.

Author Names

1. If an author’s name appears on more than one abstract, it must be identical on each abstract.
2. The submitting author is designated as the presenting or primary author – the presenting   author is shown in green in Oasis. The senior author must always be listed last.

Abstract Data

1. The Heart Failure Society of America is a forum for presentation of novel research findings. Therefore, work covered by the abstract must not have been published as a manuscript or abstract  prior to March 31, 2020.
2. Abstract data may not be presented at a national meeting or world congress in the United States  prior to July 1, 2020.
3. Data should not be “split” to create several abstracts from one. Splitting will result in reduced scores for related abstracts.
4. Abstracts containing identical or nearly identical data submitted from the same institution or individual will be disqualified.
5. Informed consent: any studies involving human subjects must conform to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (Clinical Research 1996;14:103) and must meet all of the requirements governing informed consent of the country in which the study was performed. Any procedures performed must meet with prevailing ethical standards.
6. Use of Animals: All studies involving the use of animals must conform with the 1991 revision of “Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals” (American Physiological Association).

Award Competitions

If submitting for an award competition, please check the appropriate box and provide required information. Abstracts submitted for award competition cannot be submitted as Poster Presentation Only.

Co-Author Approval

The submitting author must verify that all co-authors have read and approved the abstract submission.

Disclosure Form

A disclosure form identifying commercial relationships for all co-authors must be completed online by the submitting author. When the box has been checked, the submitting author is signing and verifying disclosure on behalf of all co-authors. Disclosure information for accepted abstracts will be made available to the 2020 scientific meeting attendees.

Abstract Submissions by Industry

Abstract submissions from industry are allowed. Submissions must focus on science and research, not on specific products or services. Abstract presentations cannot be sales presentations or endorsements for products or services.

Abstract Withdrawal

Withdrawal of accepted abstracts must be received in writing (via email) by HFSA no later than August 21, 2020 to avoid publication in the Journal of Cardiac Failure supplement.

Writing an Abstract

• Title: Make the title dynamic and conclusive, rather than descriptive
• Structure: A well-written abstract typically has the following identified sections: Introduction, Hypothesis, Methods, Results and Conclusions.
• Category: Check submission category carefully to assure proper consideration.
• Length: Maximum length is 2800 characters, including tables and graphs.

Title

An abstract must have a short, specific title (no abbreviations) that clearly indicates the nature of the investigation. Make the title dynamic and conclusive, rather than descriptive.

Text

1. Briefly describe the objectives of the study unless they are contained in the title. If applicable,   include a brief statement of methods. State findings in sufficient detail to support conclusions.   Abstracts should not describe research in which the chemical identity or source of the reagent   is proprietary or cannot be revealed.
2. Use generic names wherever possible. Use trade names only when necessary.
3. Avoid beginning sentences with numerals.
4. Standard abbreviations may be used without definition. Nonstandard abbreviations should be   placed in parentheses after the first use of the word or phrase abbreviated.
5. No references, credits or grant support should be included in the abstract.
6. No identifying information about patients participating in a study or trial should be used.
7. Proofread abstracts carefully to avoid errors before submission. No corrections will be allowed   or made once abstract has been submitted.

Abstract Contents

The size limit for an abstract 2,800 characters, including characters in the following: abstract title, body, authors/institutions, table(s) and image(s).