A Heart Patient's Best Friend

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Dogs are better at relaxing heart-failure patients than people, a new study found.

"Dogs are a great comfort," says study leader Kathie Cole of the UCLA Medical Center. "They make people happier, calmer and feel more loved. That is huge when you are scared and not feeling well."

The scientists monitored the patients' blood pressure, release of harmful hormones and other measurables that characterize heart failure. An anxiety test was done before and after the session.

Anxiety scores dropped 24 percent among patients interacting with a dog. Scores dropped 10 percent when only a human visited. The group that got no visit exhibited no change.

Dogs helped cause a 17 percent drop in a stress hormone called epinephrine, while human visitors could muster only a 2 percent dip. The hormone level rose 7 percent, on average, in the group that got no visitor.

Similar improvements were seen in other measures.

"This study demonstrates that even a short-term exposure to dogs has beneficial physiological and psychosocial effects on patients who want it," Cole said. "This therapy warrants serious consideration as an adjunct to medical therapy in hospitalized heart failure patients."

The study, announced today, is detailed in the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

Robert Roy Britt
Robert Roy Britt

Robert is an independent health and science journalist and writer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a former editor-in-chief of Live Science with over 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor. He has worked on websites such as Space.com and Tom's Guide, and is a contributor on Medium, covering how we age and how to optimize the mind and body through time. He has a journalism degree from Humboldt State University in California.