Global Heart Hub, Croí Heart & Stroke Charity
Project: Fatal Searches
A heart attack told through a final Google search
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women, yet awareness remains dangerously low – especially around how women’s symptoms differ to men’s. That’s because most of what we’ve learned about heart attacks – from CPR dummies to soap opera scripts – has been built around male bodies.
01The Context
The global healthcare system never taught women to recognise the signs of their biggest killer. This failure is costing lives, and it’s what Global Heart Hub (GHH) and Croí Heart & Stroke Charity (Croí) set out to change.
02The Move
We flipped the approach. Instead of telling women the signs, we showed what happens when they’re missed – through a film told entirely via her phone. It mirrored how women seek help: quietly, digitally, and often doubting themselves.
03The Action
The campaign was inspired by the real story of Lynn Witham, a 60-year-old woman who was found dead next to a tablet. Fatal Searches brought this to life through the digital trail left behind: search queries, unanswered texts, missed calls. Told entirely through a woman’s phone, the film showed how quietly a heart attack can unfold when symptoms go unrecognized, and how devastating the cost can be.
04The Impact
It was a film designed to be passed on across communities and borders – and ultimately drove over 34 million combined reach across paid, earned and organic. GHH is now working to adapt and roll out Fatal Searches in countries where the gender gap in heart health is widest – using local search data, real patient stories, and cultural insight to sharpen and scale the message.
