From Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany (HS, UM-W, TH, MR, RP, HL, MB, KW); National Heart and Lung Institute, London, UK (DPF, MFP); and Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany (DH).
Supported, in part, by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SCHM 1398/3-1,-2; HOY 1634/8-1,2) (HS, UMW, DH) and by the Research Focus SFB 598 “Heart Failure of the Elderly: Cellular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Interventions” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (project A7) (HS, HL, KW). There was no involvement of the founding source in study design, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in writing the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.
There is no financial conflict of interest inherent in the article’s content.
Address requests for reprints to: Hendrik Schmidt, MD, Department of Medicine III, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Klinikum Kröllwitz, Ernst-Grube-Strasse 40, D-06097 Halle/Saale, Germany. E-mail: [email protected].