The studies at American Heart Institute have discovered that owning a Dog can be really beneficial to you and also increase your life expectancy.
A dog’s adorable face, unbridled energy and desire to be your companion is naturally a boost to your mental and physical health. However, the research study at the American Heart institute has discovered that owning a dog can be beneficial in several other ways.
The study, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, report that “Dog ownership was associated with a 33 percent lower risk of early death for heart attack survivors living alone. 27 percent reduced the risk of early death for stroke survivors living alone, compared to not owning a dog.
Researchers weren’t skimpy when it came to case studies either. They got data from a whopping four million people from six countries to reach the conclusion.
Glenn N. Levine, M.D., chair of the writing group of the American Heart Association’s scientific statement on pet ownership has released a statement explaining their discoveries.
Dr. Levine says “These two studies provide good, quality data indicating dog ownership is associated with reduced cardiac and all-cause mortality”. “While these non-randomized studies cannot ‘prove’ that adopting or owning a dog directly leads to reduced mortality, these robust findings are certainly at least suggestive of this”.
The researchers believe owning a dog was particularly good for your heart health especially due to the physical activity involved in walking or playing with an animal.
Furthermore, keeping a dog is a good motivation for physical activity, which is an important factor in rehabilitation and mental health.
Hence, if you consider getting a pet then the dog is your choice. As this study suggests you’ll have more years left on the clock as a result.
