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Primary care clinicians often are too hard-pressed for time to counsel patients thoroughly and regularly about health behaviors that lower cardiovascular (CV) disease risk. Might lay persons effectively provide individualized CV counseling? In this multicenter randomized U.K. trial, researchers enrolled 600 high-risk adults (mean age, 67; mean 10-year CV risk, 31%) who had at least one modifiable CV risk factor (i.e., hypertension, obesity, or smoking) but no prior adverse CV events. The intervention included regular telephone calls from trained lay people who were trained in motivational interviewing and who followed software-generated scripts that addressed diet, exercise, weight management, tobacco and alcohol use, medication adherence, …