Heart patients and bachelors/spinsters benefit significantly from dog ownership
Pets have been known to ease some health concerns but it has been recently proven that dog owners live longer, and this is especially true for heart disease patients or the ones living alone. Dr. Caroline Kramer at the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes (LSCD) in Ontario, Canada, found dog owners to have lower blood pressure, healthier cholesterol levels and a milder stress response than people with canine-free homes.
A thorough review of medical literature from 1950, by Kramer’s team, turned up 10 studies of dog ownership and recorded the survival of about 3.8 million people. From this, people who had suffered a cardiovascular event had a 65% reduced risk of dying over the next decade,and the overall mortality from cardiovascular causes was reduced by 31%, if they owned a dog.
Kramer said that increased physical activity from having a dog most likely translates to cardiovascular benefits.
In another 11-year study by Dr. Tove Fall, of Uppsala University in Sweden,heart attack patients who owned a dog and lived alone had a 33% lower risk of having another heart attack, while the risk was 15% less for people who had a dog and a partner/child. Similarly, stroke patients living alone had 27% reduced risk of another stroke, while repeat stroke risk was 12% lower for dog owners who didn’t live alone.
In addition to these findings, having a pet – big or small – could relieve stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and social isolation. Though, before pet adoption, make sure to have the resources to care for your pet.
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
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