The idea for Amgen’s first foray into documentary film started with two numbers, according to Nerissa Gomes, general manager of the company’s U.S. cardiovascular business unit: that every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack or stroke, adding up to more than 800,000 people per year.
“From Amgen’s point of view, we believe it’s one of the biggest health crises that there is in the U.S., yet very little is being done to address it,” Gomes said in an interview with Fierce Pharma Marketing. “When we looked at these numbers, we thought, ‘Enough’s enough. We’ve got to do something about this.’”
To that end, since 2023, Amgen has pursued a goal of halving the number of cardiovascular events in the U.S. by 2030. In support of that effort, the pharma has launched multiple campaigns raising awareness of the dangers of high LDL-C—also known as bad cholesterol and “the single most modifiable risk factor” for heart attacks and strokes, per Gomes—and encouraging people to reduce their risk levels.
That’s also the subject of the new documentary. “The Making of a Heart Attack” premiered last month on A&E, was featured at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity shortly after and is now available to watch on Amgen’s “Attack Heart Disease” website.
The 2030 goal is “not something we can do alone,” Gomes said, adding, “We need bold action, and that’s where the ‘Making of a Heart Attack’ documentary became something we thought would be one of those bold ways to incite awareness to action.”
The 25-minute film stars former NFL player Barry Sanders, who begins by disclosing that he experienced a heart attack in 2024—forcing him to realize he needed to make “drastic changes” in his life and learn more about risk factors—before sitting down for a discussion with four other survivors of cardiovascular events. Throughout the film, they share their personal experiences, talk about seeking support and reiterate the importance of monitoring LDL-C, among other health metrics, to prevent events like theirs.
Sanders was the right choice as the face of the documentary for multiple reasons, according to Gomes.
For one, he “represents an important population, the African American community, where we know the numbers of people who have heart attacks and strokes are high, yet access to education and treatment is low,” she said.
For another, his status as an ex-pro athlete helps to battle common misconceptions about cardiovascular health: “He is an NFL superstar, and you don’t think of people who are active and healthy necessarily suffering from a heart attack or stroke, yet that does happen, and that’s honestly a misnomer. Sometimes people think that heart attacks and strokes only happen to people who are somewhat unhealthy or older, and that’s not true,” Gomes said.
Finally, according to the exec, Sanders also brings “enormous recognition” and a large platform, making him a powerful ally in Amgen’s mission to raise awareness of LDL-C levels and reduce cardiovascular events.
As for why a documentary film was the right medium for that mission, Gomes said Amgen was looking for a fresh approach that could make a big splash.
“When we look at the problem that exists in terms of the number of heart attacks and strokes, versus the amount of effort that has been taken to address it, we weren’t seeing that as equal,” she said. “It’s, quite frankly, something that made us super frustrated, and that’s where we thought, ‘We have to do something different. We have to do something bold.’”
The primary goal of the film is to teach viewers that elevated risk for heart attack and stroke can be a “fixable problem” if they’re educated about the risk factors, according to Gomes.
“That starts with knowing what their bad cholesterol levels are and talking to their doctor about it, so the one biggest metric that we are focused on is really getting people to go to AttackHeartDisease.com, watch the documentary and get a free LDL test, and then go talk to their doctor about it,” she said. “Know their number, know their risk, and be able to be better informed in how to reduce that.”