GOOD COMMUNICATION IS GOOD MEDICINE FOR YOUR HEART

Bayer® Aspirin Launches Conversations of the Heart™: A Personalized Communications Program to Help Improve Women's Heart Health Through Conversations with Their Doctors

Morristown, N.J., U.S.A. (January 31, 2006) - A conversation of the heart may be the most important discussion a woman can have. In fact, a good heart-to-heart with her doctor may help save her from the number-one killer of American women: heart disease. Yet in today's hectic environment, where women are inundated with more and more health information, and doctors have less and less time, the doctor/patient communications gap continues to exist.

In response to this important health communication challenge, the makers of Bayer® Aspirin today launched Conversations of the Heart™, a national initiative featuring specially designed interactive resources that offer personalized direction to encourage productive conversations with physicians - based on an individual woman's individual instincts. Conversations of the Heart was developed in collaboration with Nieca Goldberg, M.D., chief of Women's Cardiac Care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and award-winning author of The Women's Healthy Heart Program: Lifesaving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease.

"Good communication is essential medicine when it comes to reducing a woman's heart disease risk and improving her heart health," says Dr. Goldberg. "As a practicing physician, I wasn't surprised when my friends - not my patients - kept calling me to translate what their doctors had told them," Dr. Goldberg adds. "That is why I'm especially excited about this program. It encourages women to understand, trust and use their natural instincts to aid in their conversations with their physicians, and allows them to feel confident and competent when doing so."

Dr. Goldberg suggests that aspirin use along with diet and exercise is a good starting point for a productive dialogue with your doctor about heart attack and recurrent stroke prevention. "Aspirin is the source of many questions in my practice since it is always the subject of so much research," Dr. Goldberg explains.

A Personalized Communications Program for Productive Heart-To-Hearts

At the heart of the program is the Conversations of the Heart™ Health MO+™, powered by Kolbe, a tailored resource including written and audio reports, which provides insight into each woman's instinctual problem-solving approaches. The widely respected Kolbe A™ Index provides the basis for the Health MO+, which helps prepare women for productive heart-to-hearts and provides concrete suggestions for communicating with their doctors during and after their visits.

"Every woman should log onto the Conversations of the Heart 2006 website to access her Health MO+. I am confident that you will feel more informed and prepared to have a productive heart-to-heart with your doctor. Understanding and honing your communication strengths based on your natural instincts can help you have a more meaningful and productive rapport with your physician," says Kathy Kolbe, founder of Kolbe Corp and developer of the Health MO+.

The interactive website, www.ConversationsoftheHeart2006.com, is rich with important resources, including The Girls' Guide to Talking about Heart Disease, the Health MO+, and heart-health resources including information on diet, exercise, stress, and aspirin, as well as informative excerpts from Dr. Goldberg's book.

"In our continuing commitment to improve the heart health of women, we are extremely proud to support the Conversations of the Heart program," says Robert Schumm, category director, Bayer® Aspirin, Bayer HealthCare, Consumer Care Division USA. "It is imperative that every woman understands her options for simple prevention strategies like aspirin, a cornerstone in preventing both heart attack and recurrent stroke in women at elevated risk. We believe it is our responsibility to encourage productive dialogue between patients and their physicians about understanding their risks for heart disease, adopting heart-healthy behaviors and considering whether aspirin use is right for them."

The Conversations of the Heart program will continue throughout the year, offering a series of activities to reach a wide range of patients and their physicians.

About Bayer HealthCare Consumer Care

The Consumer Care Division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, makers of Bayer® Aspirin, is headquartered in Morristown, N.J. Bayer's Consumer Care Division is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. These include Bayer® Aspirin, Aleve®, Alka-Seltzer Plus®, Bactine®, RID®, Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, Midol, Alka-Seltzer® and One-A-Day® and Flintstones vitamins.

Bayer HealthCare LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry based in Leverkusen/Germany.

About Nieca Goldberg, M.D.

Nieca Goldberg M.D. is a cardiologist, a nationally recognized pioneer in women's heart health and an award-winning author. Her New York City practice, Total Heart Care, primarily focuses on caring for women. Dr. Goldberg is the chief of Women's Cardiac Care at Lenox Hill Hospital and holds the positions of co-medical director of the 92^nd Street Y's Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and assistant clinical professor of Medicine at The New York University School of Medicine.

About Kolbe Corp

Kolbe Corp, founded in 1975 by innovative educator, theorist and best-selling author Kathy Kolbe, is the world's leading provider of highly accurate, statistically proven performance-forecasting products and services. Kolbe products capture and analyze data about individuals' unchanging conative strengths and convert them into strategic information that is useful for decision-making in business and personal settings. For more information on the Kolbe Health MO+™ and other products, visit www.kolbe.com.

Conversations of the Heart™ is a trademark of Bayer Corporation. The Kolbe Health MO+™ and Health MO+™ are trademarks of Kolbe Corp.

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