1. Controller and contact
The controller responsible for personal data processed in connection with this personal research website is:
Dr. med. Bent Estler
c/o Heidelberg University Hospital
Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Pulmology
Im Neuenheimer Feld 410
69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Email: bent.estler@med.uni-heidelberg.de
You can use these contact details for questions about privacy and to exercise your data protection rights.
2. Scope
This notice explains the processing associated with viewing this website and sending enquiries to its operator. It is based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR; in German: DSGVO) and applicable German data protection law. The website has no user accounts, newsletter registration, online shop, or contact form.
3. Hosting and technical access data
The online website is intended for hosting with ALL-INKL.COM – Neue Medien Münnich, owner René Münnich, Hauptstraße 68, 02742 Friedersdorf, Germany. When you open the downloaded HTML file locally, this does not itself send a request to that hosting provider.
When you access the hosted website, technical data are transmitted to the server so that it can deliver the page. Depending on the server configuration, access and error logs can contain your IP address, the date and time of the request, the requested page or file, response status, amount of data transferred, browser and operating-system information, and the referring page if your browser supplies it.
These data are processed to deliver the website, maintain reliable operation, diagnose faults, and detect or investigate abuse. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR: the legitimate interest in operating a reliable and secure research website. The hosting provider receives the technical data needed to provide its services; processing on the operator’s behalf is governed by Article 28 GDPR.
Retention: data needed only for delivery are processed for the connection or request. Where technical logs are retained, the retention period is determined by the time needed to detect, analyse, and resolve operational faults or security incidents. Data are deleted or anonymised once these purposes no longer require them. Records needed for a specific incident or legal claim may be retained until the investigation or claim is resolved, subject to applicable legal retention obligations.
Provider information: ALL-INKL.COM privacy information. This provider notice is additional information and does not replace this website’s privacy policy.
4. Cookies, analytics, and local page functions
The page itself does not set cookies, use local storage, or run tracking or analytics tools. No third-party fonts, social-media plug-ins, advertising pixels, videos, or maps are embedded. The portrait, styling, and scripts are contained in the HTML file.
Publication filters and expandable citations operate in your browser. Your selections are not sent to the operator or stored in a visitor profile. No consent-based tracking functions requiring a cookie consent banner are implemented in this page.
5. Email enquiries
If you contact me by email, I process the information you provide, such as your name, email address, message, and attachments, to respond to your enquiry and discuss a possible collaboration. Clicking an email link opens your email application; it does not send a message automatically.
For general enquiries, the legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, reflecting the legitimate interest in responding to professional correspondence. Where an enquiry concerns a contract with you or steps taken at your request before entering into a contract, Article 6(1)(b) GDPR applies. Article 6(1)(c) GDPR applies where retention or disclosure is required by law.
Email is handled through the infrastructure associated with the stated university-hospital email address. Authorised personnel and technical service providers involved in operating that infrastructure may process the message for delivery, storage, and security. Information is disclosed to other recipients only where needed for the agreed enquiry or project, where a lawful basis permits it, or where required by law.
Correspondence is retained while required to handle the enquiry and any resulting collaboration. It is deleted when those purposes cease, unless statutory retention obligations or the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims require longer retention. Where retention is legally required, use is restricted to that purpose.
Providing information by email is voluntary. Without the information needed to understand your request and a way to reply, I may be unable to respond. Please do not send identifiable patient records or other sensitive research data in an initial enquiry; appropriate arrangements can be agreed separately.
6. External links and international processing
Publication, professional-profile, and regulatory links lead to external websites. No connection to those destinations is initiated merely to display this page. If you follow a link, your browser connects to the destination and its operator processes data under its own privacy notice, potentially outside the European Economic Area.
This page does not embed third-country tracking or content services. Email transmission and any later research collaboration are separate from merely viewing the website; project-specific data processing arrangements will be addressed where relevant.
7. Your rights
Subject to the conditions of the GDPR, you have the right to obtain access to your personal data (Article 15), request correction (Article 16), request erasure (Article 17), and request restriction of processing (Article 18). Where processing is automated and based on consent or a contract, you may also have the right to data portability (Article 20).
Right to object: where processing is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, you may object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation (Article 21). The processing will then stop unless compelling legitimate grounds override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing is necessary for legal claims.
If processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing. To exercise your rights, contact the controller using the details above.
8. Complaints to a supervisory authority
You may lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority under Article 77 GDPR, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, workplace, or the alleged infringement. In Baden-Württemberg, you can contact:
Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI)
Heilbronner Straße 35
70191 Stuttgart, Germany
Contact and complaint options
9. Automated decisions and updates
This website does not make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects and does not carry out profiling. This notice will be updated if the website’s functions or data processing arrangements change.
Last updated: 26 October 2026