Doctors Not Getting Heart Message Out

Doctors are not advising their patients on how to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 killer in the United States, the government said Thursday.

In a 1995 study of 29,273 doctor visits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that doctors counseled patients on exercise about once in five visits, eating healthy about once in four visits and losing weight once in 10 visits.

Cardiovascular disease, which includes high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, kills almost 1 million people each year.