Pet Ownership and Cardiac Health

Dr. WONG Yiu Tung, Anthony

Specialist in Cardiology

To most people, dogs are their best friends. In fact, the benefits they can get from their pets are far more than the good time they spend playing with them and companionship.

Based on the consolidated results of multinational studies on the relationship between pet ownership and cardiac health, the American Heart Association published a consensus statement in a leading medical journal in 2020. According to the statement the benefits of pet ownership include, among others, better control of blood pressure, increase in exercises, improvement in cholesterol level, weight reduction and better regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Some studies showed that pet owners suffering from cardiovascular diseases did live a longer life. Most of these studies focused on cat owners and dog owners, and the benefits are found to be more significant in the latter group.

While being popular in the western countries, pet ownership is a new trend in the Mainland China and Hong Kong. Is pet ownership also good for the cardiac health in Chinese people? In 2017, researchers from Nanjing published an article in medical journal about pet ownership and cardiac health. They showed that pet owners were 50% less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases than non-pet owners. Another interesting finding was that the earlier or the longer one had a pet, the more dramatic the benefits would be for your cardiac health.

A plausible explanation is that pet owners tend to exercise more intensively and more frequently than non-pet owners, e.g. by walking the dogs outdoor, or playing with them at home every day. Therefore it is much easier for dog owners to achieve the daily recommendation of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity.  

As for other risk factors of cardiac diseases like stress, a pet dog can provide comfort and reassurance to its owner as a good companion. Research showed that dog ownership can lower the level of cortisol and thus reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.