KS has lectured for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, OmniaMed, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, NovoNordisc and MSD and has acted as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Amgen, Bayer, Böhringer Ingelheim and Lilly. DMW has lectured and consulted for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, NovoNordisk and Sanofi-Aventis. NM has lectured for Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi-Aventis, MSD, BMS, AstraZeneca, Lilly, NovoNordisk; NM has conducted research projects supported by Boehringer Ingelheim and MSD, and has acted as a consultant to Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi-Aventis, MSD, BMS, AstraZeneca, NovoNordisk, Lilly and Bayer. ALB has lectured for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, NovoNordisc and MSD and has acted as a consultant to Böhringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca and NovoNordisk. AZ has worked as a consultant for: Bayer Health Care; Boehringer Ingelheim; Rigel; Cardiorentis; Medscape; Stealth Peptides; Sanofi Aventis; Medtronic; Novartis. He has received honoraria from: Bayer Health Care; Astra-Zeneca; Medtronic; ResMed; Boehringer Ingelheim; Rigel; Sanofi Aventis; Pfizer; Janssen-Cilag; Novartis; Bristol Myers Squib; Thoratec; Abiomed; Daiichi Sankyo; Abbott; Cardiac Dimensions. TF declares the following conflicts of interest: Speaker Panel: Abbott; Astra Zeneca; Böhringer Ingelheim, Berlin Chemie; Cipla, Eli Lilly; Fortbildungskolleg; MSD; Novartis, Novo Nordisk; Sanofi. Advisory Panel: Astra Zeneca; Bayer; Cipla, Eli Lilly; Fortbildungskolleg; Novo Nordisk; Pfizer; Sanofi; Bayer; Roche; Eyesense