Patient Stories

Experiencing the Benefits

Ken Simpson

“The benefits I’ve received from Eliquis are greater peace of mind, and the ability to continue to live a full life with my loved ones.”

Ken Simpson was a nationally ranked high school All American swimmer, which earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois. But it wasn’t until many years after his college graduation that he first experienced heart problems which would come and go over the next 50 or so years.

“I spent almost my entire business career with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in Chicago,” Ken says. “One day while at work, I felt a strange feeling in my chest I had never had before. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew something wasn’t quite right.”

The Wrigley family separately owned the Chicago Cubs baseball team at that time. Ken was sent to see a team doctor familiar with working with accomplished athletes. He was prescribed a heart monitor to wear for a month, but no irregularities were found.

In his late 20s, Ken began swimming in the national Masters Swimming Program for adults. During one competition, the strange feeling in his chest returned.

“It wasn’t a flutter or skipped heartbeat, but more like a thunderous steady heartbeat,’’ he explains. I decided I wasn’t going to live my life being afraid of a heart condition which apparently couldn’t be diagnosed, so I swam my race, winning it. By the time I got out of the pool, the strange heartbeat was gone.”

Another heart monitor again showed no irregularity, but Ken was convinced something was wrong. He began seeing a cardiologist and continued to be checked periodically.

Ken is grateful for his second chances. He considers himself lucky to have reconnected with his childhood sweetheart Beverly after 40 years apart.

As the years passed, Ken’s condition gradually worsened. “In my mid-40s, my cardiologist removed a blood clot at the top of my left anterior descending artery. I was fortunate I survived the procedure.”

“Several years later, after a day-long business meeting in Chicago, I found I couldn’t walk to the train station without stopping several times. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the station. It was obvious something was very wrong.”

An emergency room EKG first identified Ken’s condition. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. His cardiologist immediately prescribed Eliquis to reduce the increased risk of stroke that patients with Ken’s condition face.

“Now I take my Eliquis religiously. Every morning and every night. I make sure I don’t miss a dose,” Ken says.

For this now-retired businessperson, the saying “Sell the benefits, not the product” is more than just advice on how to sell successfully.

“No matter what the product, what’s most important are the benefits it provides to the user,” Ken says. “The benefits I’ve received from Eliquis are greater peace of mind, and the ability to continue to live a full life with my loved ones.”

PATIENT STORIES

Built to Fight

Carol Willis

Experiencing the benefits

Ken Simpson

Every Day to Live

Jessie Stern

Waiting for a Breakthrough

Samantha Wesson

The patient stories shared in this Annual Report depict individual patient responses to our medicines or investigational compounds and are not representative of all patient responses. In addition, there is no guarantee that potential drugs or indications still in development will receive regulatory approval. This Annual Report contains statements about the company’s future plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from those indicated as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. These documents are available from the SEC, the Bristol-Myers Squibb website or from Bristol-Myers Squibb Investor Relations. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change. This Annual Report also contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, adjusted to include certain costs, expenses, gains and losses and other specified items. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are available on the company’s website at www.bms.com.