CHICAGO, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker didn’t miss a beat when partnering with Larry King to

CHICAGO, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker didn’t miss a beat when partnering with Larry King to help save hearts. Thanks to thousands of Americans who signed up to take the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge, Quaker(R) Oatmeal is donating $250,000 to the Larry King Cardiac Foundation (LKCF). As part of this heart healthy campaign to help people lower their cholesterol, Quaker made a monetary contribution to the Foundation for each person who signed up

For 10 years, Quaker has encouraged people take the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge, which involves three simple steps: 1) have your cholesterol tested; 2) eat a good-sized bowl of oatmeal every day, plus exercise and limit foods that add saturated fat and cholesterol; 3) After 30 days, have your cholesterol tested again. Further evidence that reaffirms oatmeal’s cholesterol lowering benefits is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine entitled, “The Oatmeal-Cholesterol Connection: 10 Years Later.”

“We’re thrilled to see Quaker’s charitable dollars working toward improving America’s heart health by supporting the Larry King Cardiac Foundation,” said Dave Kimbell, vice president of marketing for Quaker Breakfast. “The simple call to action to take the Smart Heart Challenge has not only helped Foundation recipients, but also those consumers who are looking to make positive steps to help prevent heart disease.”

Larry King, who suffers from heart disease and underwent successful quintuple bypass heart surgery, established the Larry King Cardiac Foundation to help provide life-saving treatment for individuals who, due to limited means or no insurance, would otherwise be unable to receive the care they need. The Foundation shares the same goals of Quaker Oatmeal to help prevent heart disease by encouraging Americans to eat right and exercise.

“When I had my heart surgery it really was a wake-up call. Not only was I shocked at the number of people who couldn’t afford life-saving heart treatment, but I also learned about the controllable risk factors associated with heart disease,” said Larry King, founder of the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. “With Quaker’s support, this contribution means we’re able to save lives and promote heart healthy living.”

Quaker and Larry King National Print Ad

As part of the campaign, Ginger Lee Martin of Arkansas entered the Smart Heart Challenge sweepstakes and won the chance to appear in a Quaker Oatmeal national newspaper ad with Larry King that is running this month. Martin, who has a history of family heart disease, made several lifestyle and dietary changes including signing up to the take the Smart Heart Challenge to help lower her cholesterol. She joins other real-life success stories featured in Quaker’s 10-year “Real People” advertising campaign.

About the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge

The Quaker Smart Heart Challenge is an initiative backed by 40 years of research that encourages people to make simple lifestyle changes such as exercising and eating right, including eating a good-sized bowl of Quaker Oatmeal for 30 days as part of a low-saturated fat diet to help lower cholesterol. Over the last 10 years, the Quaker Oatmeal Smart Heart Challenge has helped people nationwide proactively manage their cholesterol. Quaker Oatmeal was one of the first companies to embrace consumers’ real life successes with the Challenge, inspiring others to lower their cholesterol and help reduce their risk of heart disease.

About Quaker Oatmeal

In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the first food-specific health claim to Quaker Oats for soluble fiber in oatmeal and its heart-health benefits. The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world’s largest consumer packaged good companies. For more information, please visit http://www.quakeroatmeal.com.

About the Larry King Cardiac Foundation

The Larry King Cardiac Foundation was established in 1988 to provide funding for life-saving treatment for individuals, who, due to limited means or no insurance, would be otherwise unable to receive the treatment and medical attention they so desperately need. For more information, visit http://www.lkcf.org.

Three grams of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. SOURCE Quaker Oats

-0- 02/25/2008

/CONTACT: Candace Mueller of Quaker Oats, +1-312-821-2709, Candace—Muellerquakeroats.com; or Amanda Shannahan of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6006, Amanda.Shannahanogilvypr.com, for Quaker Oats/

/Web site: http://www.quakeroatmeal.com

http://www.lkcf.org / CO: Quaker Oats; Larry King Cardiac Foundation; Quaker Smart Heart

Challenge ST: Illinois IN: HEA FOD REA SUP SU: CSR POL DM-AE -- AQM094 -- 0692 02/25/2008 13:58 EST http://www.prnewswire.com