Launching during American Heart Month, new campaign raises awareness of the relationship between the stress of sports fandom and heart health, encouraging people to prioritize their heart health and assess their risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

In recognition of American Heart Month, Bayer is continuing its ongoing commitment to elevating awareness and education about heart health and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. for men and women and continues to increase, due in part to the often-invisible risk factors — 1 in 5 heart attacks occur with no recognizable signs or warning.¹ But stress, like the heart-pounding moments fans may experience while watching their favorite teams play, can play a role in their cardiovascular risk, especially when other pre-existing risk factors are present. In fact, heart attack risk can more than double when your home team plays.

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To reach people where they are, Bayer^® Aspirin is showing up for fans who put their whole hearts into their fandom as the Official Sponsor of Fans’ Hearts, encouraging fans, and non-fans alike, to prioritize their heart health by assessing their risk factors for cardiovascular disease at CheckYourHeartRisks.com. This quick assessment² will give fans the opportunity to assess their potential risk factors of developing cardiovascular disease³ and understand actionable steps they can take to help keep their heart healthy, including discussing their heart health risk factors with a healthcare professional.

“It doesn’t matter what sport, league, or team you cheer for every fan has experienced heart-pounding moments when watching their team play,” said Kelly Fanning, General Manager & Vice President of Pain and Cardio at Bayer Consumer Health U.S. “While that feeling may seem trivial, the stress that comes from those heart-pounding moments, along with other risk factors, may increase your cardiovascular risk. As a leader in heart health, we wanted to find an impactful new way to reach and educate people who may be at increased cardiovascular risk without even realizing it. By kicking off American Heart Month with our new role as Official Sponsor of Fans’ Hearts, we’re tapping into a relatable moment and encouraging fans to assess their cardiovascular risk factors and take action so they can Keep Their Hearts in the Game.”

Through ongoing multimedia content and regional media integrations with NBC Sports and Bally Sports, Bayer^® Aspirin will celebrate fans and encourage them to prioritize their heart health by taking the first step of assessing their cardiovascular risk. The launch includes a film that brings fans back to the most iconic and heart-pounding moments in sports history and tells the story of what fans, and their hearts, have experienced while watching.

Bayer^® Aspirin partnered with well-known play-by-play sports commentators, including NHL Hall of Famer and Emmy-Award winner Michael “Doc” Emrick; NBA, NFL and college football announcer Kevin Harlan; and former ESPN commentator and LA Dodgers play-by-play caller, Charley Steiner, to reimagine the most nail biting and intense sports calls. To further drive relevance and shed light on the impact fandom can have on heart health, the brand also enlisted the insight of industry experts and relevant voices to share their expertise and personal stories through digital efforts. The inspiring series includes real-world storytelling, educational content from special guests including cardiovascular experts, and fan engagement, with the continued goal to motivate audiences to examine their own risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

“Many people don’t realize that cardiovascular disease is on the rise, and there are several factors that can increase your risk, including your health condition, lifestyle, and family history,” said Jeff Jarrett, NA Chief Marketing Officer, Bayer Consumer Health. “The challenge is that some of these risk signs are not visible and therefore not always easily recognized. Through Bayer^® Aspirin’s 360° campaign approach, we’re looking to reach people where they are – which, as we discovered, is often in sports stadiums or behind their televisions. In fact, in 2021, approximately 57.5 million viewers in the United States watched digital live sports content at least once per month.⁴ As part of Bayer^® Aspirin’s ongoing commitment to heart health, we’re excited and honored to bring this breakthrough education and technology to sports fans across the world.”

Learn more about Bayer’s commitment to heart health and assess your cardiovascular risk factors at CheckYourHeartRisks.com. And follow along on Bayer^® Aspirin social channels (Instagram: @BayerAspirin_US; Facebook: @BayerAspirin).

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer 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.

¹ https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

² Does not replace an assessment by a qualified healthcare professional. Always talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about your heart health.

³ Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels.

⁴ Number of digital live sports viewers in the United States from 2021 to 2025: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1127341/live-sport-viewership/#:~:text=Digital%20live%20sport%20viewership%20in%20the%20United%20States%202021&text=In%202021%2C%20approximately%2057.5%20million,over%2090%20million%20by%202025.

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