(Huffington Post) A new study provides even more evidence that man’s best friend is good for your health — this time, the findings suggest heart-healthy benefits of pet ownership.
A new study in the American Journal of Cardiology shows that for people with chronic diseases, having a pet is linked with the heart’s capability to adapt to any number of circumstances that can affect the body, such as a faster heartbeat during a stressful moment, Reuters reported. The research included 191 people with a chronic condition like diabetes or high cholesterol, with a mean age of 69, whose heart rates were analyzed for a full day and night, according to the study. The participants were also broken up into groups depending on their pet-ownership status. Reuters reported that the people who owned pets had heart rates that changed more than people who didn’t own pets — meaning the heart rates were more adaptable.
The finding falls into line with a number of other studies examining the effects of pet ownership on health. WebMD reported on a study in 2008 that showed cat owners had a lower risk of dying from a heart attack or other heart problems than people who’ve never owned a cat before. That study, presented at a meeting of the American Stroke Association, showed that people who’ve never owned a cat before had a 40 percent increased risk of death from heart attack over a 20-year period, WebMD reported. And just last year, researchers from Miami University and St. Louis University published a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showing that pets provide the same emotional benefits as human relationships.
