Guidelines and procedures related to European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Position Papers and Consensus Documents
The ESH welcomes proposals of endorsement related to Position Papers and Consensus Documents on controversial issues in the pathophysiology, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to primary and secondary hypertension, as well as cardiovascular and metabolic risk related to hypertension and associated comorbidities.
Proposals must originate from the Working Groups of the ESH and/or by internationally well recognized groups of ESH experts in specific areas related to hypertension. They may also originate from ESH in conjunction with other European or extra-European scientific societies. They must be relevant and appropriate to the mission and interests of the ESH and its membership. They should preferably have an international focus and not just be relevant to a specific country or regional area. The publication may also represent a consensus document on a specific topic, based on data presented during ESH Expert meetings, as it has been done in the past for example for the well quoted consensus document on heart rate in hypertension.
Typically, a Position Paper comes from a single Working Group, while a Consensus Document implies collaboration between 2 or more Working Groups or Societies.
The target journal for the submission of the final publication will be chosen by the Authors. Submission to the Journal of Hypertension, the Official Journal of the ESH or Blood Pressure, also endorsed by ESH is encouraged but not mandatory.
Authors are also encouraged to include in the paper some statements which may have particular scientific and/or clinical relevance. These may be defined as “consensus points” and may be labeled with one or two asterisks depending on their impact. Authors are also encouraged to include in the paper a “take-home-message” and/or a central figure which may increase the outreach of the document.
Submission is a two-step procedure. Both steps are mandatory.
First step. The authors are requested to inform the Council (eshcoordinator@eshonline.org) of their intention to prepare a Consensus Document/Statement/Position Paper. To this end a summary sheet of the proposal should be sent to the Council. This summary sheet includes a short outline, tentative authors, estimated timeline, number of words and target journal. Please note that in case of publication in Journal of Hypertension, as per suggestion of the Editorial office, the maximum number of words of the submitted document is 6000 including references and the maximum total number of display items (Tables + Figures) is 4. Authors are encouraged to provide supplementary material (without space limitation) and prepare a graphical abstract. Council is aiming at providing feedback (i.e. endorsement or not /suggestions) as soon as possible, usually within 2-3 weeks.
Second step. When the manuscript is ready, it should be submitted to the Council (eshcoordinator@eshonline.org) prior to submission to the target Journal. Again, the Council will provide recommendations and suggestions within ~ 2-3 weeks. After these have been taken into account and, as appropriate, approved by the Council, the Authors may submit the manuscript to the target Journal for full review and may include an endorsement letter by the ESH Council.