All authors of manuscripts in the International Journal of Cardiology family of journals: The International Journal of Cardiology, IJC Heart & Vessels and IJC Metabolic & Endocrine are required to make a binding statement that they as authors adhere to the following principles: 1. That the corresponding author has the approval of all other listed authors for the submission and publication of all versions of the manuscript, that all authors have made a significant independent contribution and that no one who justifies being an author has been omitted from authorship 2. That the work has not been published nor is under consideration for publication elsewhere other than in oral, poster or abstract format, and that appropriate attribution and citation is given for any material reproduced from any other source including the authors' prior publications 3. That the material in the manuscript has been acquired according to modern ethical standards and has been approved by the legally appropriate ethical committee(s) 4. That all material conflicts of interest have been declared including the use of paid medical writers and their funding source. 5. That the manuscript will be maintained on the servers of the journals and held to be a valid publication by the journals only as long as all statements in these principles remain true, and that the authors have a duty to notify the journal editors immediately if any of the statements above ceases to be true withdrawn.