Your heart's best friend: Dog ownership associated with better cardiovascular health

[douglas9]

Owning a pet may help maintain a healthy heart, especially if that pet is a dog, according to the first analysis of data from the Kardiozive Brno 2030 study. The study examines the association of pet ownership—specifically dog ownership—with cardiovascular disease risk factors and cardiovascular health. The results are published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes.

The study first established baseline health and socio-economic information on more than 2,000 subjects in the city of Brno, Czech Republic, from January 2013 through Dec. 2014. Follow-up evaluations are scheduled for five-year intervals until 2030.

In the 2019 evaluation, the study looked at 1,769 subjects with no history of heart disease and scored them based on Life's Simple 7 ideal health behaviors and factors, as outlined by the American Heart Association: body mass index, diet, physical activity, smoking status, blood pressure, blood glucose and total cholesterol.

The study compared the cardiovascular health scores of pet owners overall to those who did not own pets. Then it compared dog owners to other pet owners and those who did not own pets.


https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-heart-friend-dog-ownership-cardiovascular.html

[customerserviceguy]

1. Don't confuse correlation with causality

Maybe folks who have poor cardiovascular health don't have the energy to keep up with a dog.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

4. Please don't confuse poor heart health with...

A motivational factor a dog. I am in a growing group of people with poor cardiovascular health.
Walking is an exercise that most if not all cardiac doctors prescribe as it is easily done by most with no monetary output for equipment, save for maybe shoes. The most pressing problem come from lack of motivation to walk. A dog solves that problem...it gives people a reason for walking other than themselves. The more you walk the more energetic you will be.

[customerserviceguy]

5. I'll be sure to tell that

to my 86 year old mother who is battling spinal pain.

For many people it is not "motivation" it is simply a lack of physical ability to meet the needs of a dog.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

6. I'm truly sorry for your mother's condition...

Although the discussion was about cardiac patients. If you stated your position in your first response, the discussion would have been totally in another direction.
The study was done with the constant being you are able.

*****from the study****

Dr. Maugeri says that the study findings support the idea that people could adopt, rescue or purchase a pet as a potential strategy to improve their cardiovascular health as long as pet ownership led them to a more physically active lifestyle.

Spinal problems are an entirely different subject.

[customerserviceguy]

7. And, I'm sure

that people who have principal problems that are not cardiac-related may well have some cardiac impairment as well. Like I said, correlation is not necessarily causation, that's all.

[virgogal]

2. I agree......and the study is from Brno,I know people from there.

S

[exboyfil]

3. My dog Arlo has been my personal trainer for 13 years

Nothing like the cold nose while I am in bed to get me motivated to give him his walk. The poor boy can't keep up with me now even in cooler weather (I give him as much walk as he wants and then I drop him at home and hit the hills).

Of course you have all the neighbors with the doggie lawn ornaments. Their pups would be so much happier hitting the trails.