• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Big pharma firm Merck, in collaboration with nine top-market Major League Baseball teams, former players including superstar Albert Pujols, and the WomenHeart nonprofit have launched “Playing With Heart,” an awareness campaign zeroing in on high bad cholesterol and how it may increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

“It’s a first-of-its kind type of educational program,” Cris Regent, Merck’s CV/metabolic leader, U.S. pharma, tells Pharma & Health Insider.

If so, it’s probably long overdue, since bad cholesterol (or LDL-C) can lead to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease -- which Regent notes, is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S.

But why theme a health awareness campaign around baseball?

“It’s America’s pastime,” answers Regent. “Many of us grew up with the game, with these players. We formed our own little bond with each of them.  And they’re known in their communities. When they say something, people tend to stop and listen, and it becomes very relatable.”

The nine participating teams have provided 11 former players to the campaign, including in one case, a current manager: Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees.

Several of the former players have high visibility as broadcast announcers: Lou Merloni (Boston Red Sox), Geoff Blum (Houston Astros) and Jake Peavy (San Diego Padres).

All the participants have one thing in common: They’ve either had bad cholesterol themselves or have had a personal connection to someone who has.

That’s certainly the case with the St. Louis Cardinals’ non-player representative: Sierra Kile, daughter of late player Darryl Kile, who died of a heart attack during the 2002 season at the age of 32.  And Pujols, the campaign’s national ambassador, played on the Cardinals with Kile.

Sierra Kile, in fact, began the Merck campaign last fall, when the Cardinals had a late-season in-game event, complete with a WomenHeart tent featuring cardiac survivors.

While WomenHeart’s mission is “supporting and advocating for women living with heart disease,” Regent points out that the nonprofit “recognizes that heart health impacts entire families and communities, and that women are often the primary health advocates and decision-makers within households,” adding that “research consistently shows that men are more likely to take action on their health when encouraged by the women in their lives — whether that’s a spouse, partner, daughter, friend or caregiver.”

“Playing With Heart,” Regent says, is targeting a broad audience (“We all have LDL”)with the aim of reaching as many people “as we can” with the message that “more can be done.”

Maximizing the audience is the reason Merck went with top-market teams. While more teams may be added in the future, Regent says, “we wanted to start where we could raise the greatest amount of awareness and education.”

The former players will be sharing their personal stories via social media, interviews and other channels, Regent continues, and all but Pujols will be part of in-stadium “Playing With Heart” takeover days.

Each team will have one of these events during this season, which will include a ceremony surrounding the opening pitch, signage, announcements and possible on-air appearances. Each team will also be doing its own outreach, Regent says.

Merck’s own outreach has included this video posted on social media.

“Heart keeps teams going,” the video begins. “And just as heart powers players, it fuels fans. Now it’s time to bring the same passion they show at games to learn about their bad cholesterol number. It’s time to step up to the plate. Talk to your doctor to learn more about your bad cholesterol number.”

The video, as well as the entire campaign, then directs viewers to PlayingWithHeart.com, a new site that reinforces the messaging.

Merck, noting that more than 800,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks annually, points out bad cholesterol over time can combine with fats and other substances in the blood to create plaque, and that plaque buildup in the arteries is a major cause of those attacks.

Merck, of course, is no stranger to cardiovascular health. Its current portfolio includes Verquvo for chronic heart failure.

And it has a long history of battling bad cholesterol. Merck developed the first statin, Mevacor, in 1987 and then Zocor in 1991. Both are now sold generically by other firms, but the company’s pipeline now boasts enlicitide, a pill that fits into a newer PCSK9 inhibitor class of drugs.

The /prompt agency worked with Merck on the “Playing with Heart” campaign.