In Honor of American Heart Month, Joy Behar & Daughter Eve Call on Women to Take the ProHeart Pledge on Facebook

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- February is American Heart Month and a time when television personality Joy Behar, and her daughter Eve, reflect on their family history of heart disease and recommit to living a heart-healthy life. That's why they are teaming up with the makers of Bayer® Aspirin and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, to raise $100,000 for the fight against heart disease.

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There are 42 million women living with or at risk for heart disease in the United States.[i] Throughout February, women and their families can help cut their risk by taking the ProHeart Pledge on Facebook (www.facebook.com/iamproheart) and committing to living a heart-healthy life. For each pledge, Bayer will make a $1 donation, up to a total of $100,000, to WomenHeart. WomenHeart supports community-based programs and local support networks that educate women about heart disease and inspire them to action. The ProHeart Pledge is a great first step on the road to becoming a heart health advocate and living ProHeart. 

"Since heart disease is the greatest health threat to women, my daughter Eve and I urge women to take the ProHeart Pledge and get serious about their heart health," said Joy Behar. "I'm participating in American Heart Month by taking the pledge and meeting with the winner of the Bayer Aspirin Heart-to-Heart sweepstakes to have a conversation with her and a cardiologist about living ProHeart and fighting heart disease."

In addition to taking the ProHeart Pledge, visitors to the I am ProHeart Facebook page (www.facebook.com/iamproheart) can download heart-healthy tools and tips based on four weekly themes, including:  learning their family history, eating heart-healthy, staying active, and maintaining the commitment to living a ProHeart lifestyle. The I am ProHeart Facebook page provides an online community where those affected by heart disease, and their loved ones, have a ready source of reliable information and can share and learn from others' experiences, so they never have to feel alone.

"Women have such busy lifestyles as mothers, caregivers, sisters, or daughters, and often find it challenging to commit to living a lifestyle that puts their health first," said Annabelle Volgman, M.D., FACC, and Medical Director, Rush Heart Center for Women. "But, each year, one in three American women who dies, dies from heart disease.[ii] One of the most important ways to be ProHeart is to ask your doctor about your risks for heart disease, and to be prepared. Being prepared means knowing to call 911 if you suspect a heart attack and having aspirin on hand, just in case. Taking aspirin during a heart attack – as directed by a doctor – can help reduce damage to the heart and prevent death. American Heart Month is the perfect time to start taking simple steps to live a heart-healthy lifestyle."

"Since heart disease runs in our family, I've always encouraged my mom to talk to her doctor about her risks and to live a heart-healthy lifestyle," said Eve. "Taking the ProHeart Pledge during Heart Month is a great first step in living a heart-healthy life. My mom and I hope that this pledge inspires women to start living ProHeart and recommit to fighting heart disease."

To take the ProHeart Pledge, visit the I am ProHeart Facebook page (www.facebook.com/iamproheart).

About WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
WomenHeart is the nation's only patient-centered advocacy organization serving the 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease – the number one killer of women.  WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nation's only patient-led support network for women living with heart disease.  WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. WomenHeart encourages all women to take charge of their heart health and get a free women's heart health action kit at www.womenheart.org/kit.

About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 16.9 billion (2010), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700 employees (Dec 31, 2010) and is represented in more than 100 countries. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.

The Consumer Care division of Bayer HealthCare 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®, One A Day® vitamins, and FlintstonesTM vitamins in the United States, and, globally, Aspirin®, Flanax®/Apronax®, Talcid®, Rennie®, Canesten®, Bepanthen®, Bepanthol®, Supradyn®, Redoxon®, Berocca®, Cal-D-Vita/Elevit® and Vital 50 Plus®.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

[i] Roger V L, Go A S, Lloyd-Jones D, Benjamin E, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2012 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Circulation 2012; e32-e171.

[ii] Lloyd-Jones D, Adams R, Brown T, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics 2010 update: a report from the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee.  Circulation, 2010; 121:e1-e170

SOURCE Bayer HealthCare