"The Dr. Oz Show" Teams Up With the CDC to Underscore the Importance of Uncovering Your Relatives' Medical Background and Making the Pledge to Reduce Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Dr. Oz Introduces Step Three in His Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You Health Challenge - Learn Your Family Health History - Airing Monday, December 12

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The Dr. Oz Show

Dec 12, 2011, 10:06 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Emmy® Award-winning, nationally syndicated "The Dr. Oz Show" unveils the next step in Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You viewer health challenge, which is to learn your family's health history, on Monday, December 12 (check local listings). Timed to the holidays when many visit with relatives, the third step empowers viewers to learn the health dangers they may one day face. Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, returns to the show to outline the benefits of knowing the diseases and conditions that run in your family. The CDC joins the "The Dr. Oz Show's" season-long national effort to activate preventive measures to transform your health as the show amplifies its call to action to reduce heart disease in their "Million Hearts Initiative."

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"The best gift you can give yourself and your loved ones this holiday season is a promise that you will be around to see them through the seasons of their lives," said Dr. Oz. "You do this by taking care of yourself, incorporating prevention into your lifestyle and learning your family health history."

As the product of two people, we inherit many traits from our parents, including their risk for diseases. While you can't control the genes you inherit, a detailed family history gives your doctor the criteria to decide on many diagnostic tests, such as what age to get your first mammogram or your first prostate exam, or how your lifestyle and diet can be adjusted. In the show, Dr. Oz encourages viewers to visit www.doctoroz.com to print out the health history worksheet that will prepare them with questions to ask immediate family members. While 96% of Americans believe it's a good idea to know your family's health history, only 1/3 have tried to write it down.

As part of the emphasis on prevention, Dr. Oz interviews CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D. about the agency's effort to combat heart disease. This year, the CDC launched the Million Hearts Initiative, a national effort to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are the co-leaders of Million Hearts within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working alongside other federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Food and Drug Administration. Key private-sector partners include the American Heart Association and YMCA, among others. In addition to explaining and encouraging viewers to be involved with the Million Hearts Initiative, Director Frieden provides insights on the family history/overall health connection with Dr. Oz.

"If you're in the family of mankind, you have a high risk of heart disease and stroke, and if you have a family member with a history of heart disease or stroke, your risk is twice as high," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "The Million Hearts Initiative can help you be healthier, by living smoke-free, eating healthy, and, if you need treatment for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, getting the right treatment for you."

Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You launched on Sept. 26 to help Americans take control of their health once and for all. More than just weight loss, it's the season-long viewer health challenge in partnership with Weight Watchers that will lead viewers through seven steps towards optimum health, each with its own completion criteria. A panel of judges will narrow down 10 finalists, and viewers will vote on the grand prize winner of $1 million. The program is powered by "The Dr. Oz Show" online partner, Sharecare, where participants have access to trusted health and wellness information, helpful tools, and real-time community interaction with each other and thousands of health experts including physicians, nurses and trainers – all designed to help everyone live their healthiest life.

ABOUT "THE DR. OZ SHOW"
Dr. Oz won his second consecutive Emmy® Award for outstanding informative talk show host at the 2011 Daytime Emmys. "The Dr. Oz Show" won its first Emmy® Award for Best Informative Talk Show in 2011. "The Dr. Oz Show" debuted in 2009 with the biggest ratings in seven years in daytime television and maintained impressive ratings throughout the season.

Dr. Oz has served as health expert on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" since 2004, sharing advice with viewers to help them live their best life from the inside out. Dr. Oz has co-authored six New York Times Best Sellers including "YOU: The Owner's Manual", "YOU: The Smart Patient", "YOU: On a Diet", "YOU: Staying Young", "YOU: Being Beautiful" and "YOU Having a Baby" as well as the award-winning "Healing from the Heart". He has a regular column in TIME Magazine, AARP and O The Oprah Magazine. He is also the host of a daily talk show on Sirius XM Radio's "Oprah Radio."

Dr. Oz is vice-chair of the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital and performs 100 heart operations annually. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complementary medicine and health care policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters, and medical books and has received several patents.

"The Dr. Oz Show" is available in 112 countries around the world and cleared in over 99% of the country. "The Dr. Oz Show" is co-produced by Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and distributed by SPT in 112 countries around the world. "The Dr. Oz Show" is executive produced by Mindy Borman; Amy Chiaro is co-executive producer. The show is filmed in front of a studio audience in Studio 6A in New York's legendary Rockefeller Center.

ABOUT HARPO
Harpo Studios is the home of Harpo Productions, Inc., the most successful production company in daytime syndicated talk, having produced the number one, award-winning "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and developed "Dr. Phil", "Rachael Ray", "The Dr. Oz Show", "The Nate Berkus Show" and "The Rosie Show." Harpo Studios also creates, develops and produces original programming for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Through its various Harpo entities, the company offers branded entertainment via magazine content, feature film and scripted television projects, online and digital offerings, and satellite radio.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. Internationally, SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, some of which are co-produced with local partners, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE's long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 120 channel feeds, which are available in more than 142 countries reaching more than 500 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic, production company Embassy Row and Sony Movie Channel, and is a part owner of cable channel GSN, new 3D channel 3net, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in all of SPE's digital businesses in the United States. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.