Pet Ownership May Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease

As far as I'm concerned, folks who live with animals are extremely blessed. Pets give us an abundance of unconditional love, and they certainly can easily entertain us for hours on end with their amazing sense of humor and high spirits. In fact, I can't imagine how dull and dreary life would be without them.

But did you know that in addition to warming our hearts, having a pet may reduce the risk of having heart disease?

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the American Heart Association(AHA), after meeting with a group of cardiac experts, determined that having a pet likely reduced the risk of getting heart disease for people without a history of heart problems, and increased survival rate for those patients with heart disease.

The panel chair, Dr. Glenn Levine, a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, released a statement that supported the theory that having a cat or dog facilitates better heart health, since having a pet generally requires more physical activity. Having a pet also helps lower blood pressure and reduces stress levels. Additionally, the bonds that develop between pets and their owners can be very powerful, and may actually boost levels of anti-stress hormones, helping people to cope more easily with a variety of emotional challenges.

Part of the research revealed that people who adopted a dog experienced a drop in blood pressure, and dog owners were 54% more likely to attain the recommended levels of exercise than those folks without dogs. As a result, dog owners were much less likely to become obese.

However, a The New York Times article cautions folks who may be thinking that pet ownership is a panacea for preventing heart disease. Since most of this research is "observational," it’s possible that people who adopt or purchase a companion animal may be healthier to begin with.

Dr. Levine remarked, “We didn’t want to make this too strong of a statement, but there are plausible psychological, sociological and physiological reasons to believe that pet ownership might actually have a causal role in decreasing cardiovascular risk.”

It appears the jury is still out. But without a doubt, my outlook on life has been positively affected by the joy I feel when I look into the eyes of our two wonderful kitties. What positive experiences have you had as a result of living with a pet? Tell us in a comment.