Joy & Eve Behar Receive 2011 Inspire Awards from AARP The Magazine for Raising Awareness About Women and Heart Disease

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Comedienne, television host, author and mother Joy Behar, and her daughter Eve, will be honored at AARP The Magazine's 2011 Inspire Awards gala on December 9 in Washington, D.C. for a public awareness campaign aimed at urging women -- who are less likely than men to survive a heart attack(i) -- to be prepared if heart attack strikes without warning. AARP The Magazine's Inspire Awards recognize people who have inspired others to action through their innovative thinking, passion and perseverance.  

"We are excited to present AARP The Magazine's Inspire Award to Joy and Eve, who are motivating other women to take action and increase their odds of surviving a sudden heart attack," said Nancy Perry Graham, editor of AARP The Magazine. "They have a powerful message that will resonate with the 42 million American women living with heart disease and those who are at risk. We applaud them for their work."

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the Unites States and heart attacks alone claim the lives of more than 250,000 women annually.(i)  More than half of those who died suddenly from a heart attack experienced no previous symptoms. (ii) Additionally, recent research suggests that many women delay going to the emergency room at the onset of symptoms and people aren't taking simple but potentially life-saving precautions like having aspirin on hand.(iii,iv)  Experts agree that taking at least two baby aspirin (81 mg. each), or one full-strength aspirin (325 mg.) can help reduce the risk of death by 23 percent when taken as directed by a doctor during a suspected heart attack and for 30 days after.

Unfortunately, the Behars are all too familiar with heart disease and these statistics: Joy's mother had a heart attack at age 50 and Joy also lost two grandparents and several uncles to heart attacks. Driven by their long family history of heart disease, Joy and her daughter Eve have partnered with the makers of Bayer® Aspirin and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, to educate women that being prepared can help save their lives. And given that today, multiple generations are again living together under one roof, Eve urges adult children to play an active role in their mom's heart health. Encourage them to take the time to take care of themselves for a change, and talk to their doctors about heart disease and to learn their risk factors, she advises.

"My daughter Eve and I are very proud to be working with WomenHeart and Bayer to get this message out," said Joy. "I've learned how important it is to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and that, when a heart attack strikes, your first line of defense is calling 911 without delay and taking aspirin, as directed by a doctor, to help reduce damage to the heart."  To make it easier to keep aspirin on hand, consumers can obtain a special-edition pill tote through the Mom's Second Chance Campaign. Pill totes can be obtained by visiting IAmProHeart.com and making a $5 donation to WomenHeart(1). For each donation, Bayer will make a matching donation of $5 to WomenHeart, up to a maximum of $100,000. These donations will help fund educational programming and outreach that enable women living with heart disease to share personal stories of courage and survival with other women who have or are at risk of developing heart disease.

"It really is an honor to be recognized by AARP, especially for work on something that is so personal for my mother and me," said Eve. "What's great about the pill tote is that it can be a conversation starter between generations about heart disease and is a daily reminder of your commitment to being prepared and taking care of your heart."

Eve also encourages women to visit the IAmProHeart.com web site, which provides useful heart-health information and the stories of real heart attack survivors, so women can be empowered to live a more heart-healthy "ProHeart" lifestyle. Supporters of the I Am ProHeart Facebook page (www.facebook.com/iamproheart) will get frequent heart health tips and other updates about living ProHeart.

"Joy and Eve are excellent ambassadors for WomenHeart's message of heart disease awareness and prevention among women," said Lisa Tate, CEO of WomenHeart. "More women die each year from heart disease than any other illness and that is a statistic we can change today by helping women take better care of their hearts."

For more information on how to receive a special-edition pill tote or the Mom's Second Chance campaign, please visit IAmProHeart.com and facebook.com/iamproheart.  

About WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

WomenHeart is the nation's only patient-centered 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 Consumer Care

The Consumer Care Division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, 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®, Citracal®, RID®, Phillips'®, Midol®, Alka-Seltzer®, One A Day® vitamins and Flintstones™ vitamins.  

(1) Limit five (5) per household, while supplies last

(i) 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

(ii) Ibid.

(iii) Ting, Henry H., Chen, Anita Y., Roe, Matthew T., et al. Delay From Symptom Onset to Hospital Presentation for Patients With Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction. Arch Intern Med. 2010; 170: 1834-1841.

(iv) Cannon, Christopher P., Rhee, Karen E., Califf, Robert M., et al. Current use of aspirin and antithrombotic agents in the United States among outpatients with atherothrombotic disease (from the Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health [REACH] Registry). Am J Cardiol 2010; 105:445-452.  

SOURCE Bayer HealthCare; WomenHeart