Visit by dog lowers
anxiety in study of heart patients
Associated Press
"You've got a pretty coat," the 51-year-old heart patient says while
stroking Bart's soft fur.
New research indicates that hospitals that use such pet-therapy sessions aren't
barking up the wrong tree.
The novel study, presented last week at an American Heart Association meeting,
is one of the first to use scientific measurements to document that therapeutic
dogs lower anxiety, stress, and heart and lung
pressure among patients with heart failure.
Worries just roll off
"You can see it on their
face, first you see a smile and then you see the worries of the world roll off
their shoulders," said Kathie Cole, a nurse at the
"I'm not surprised at all that something that makes people feel good also
makes them feel less anxious, has measurable physiological effects," said
Dr. Marc Gillinov, a cardiac surgeon at the Cleveland
Clinic who was not involved in the study.
Cole and her colleagues studied 76 heart-failure patients, average age 57, who got either a visit from a volunteer, a volunteer plus a
dog or no visit.
The scientists meticulously measured patients' physiological responses before,
during and after the visits.
Anxiety as measured by a standard rating scale dropped 24 percent for those
visited by the dog-and-volunteer team, but only 10 percent for those visited by
just a volunteer. Scores for the group with no visit remained the same.
Levels of epinephrine, a hormone the body makes when under stress, dropped 17
percent in patients visited by a person and a dog and 2 percent in those
visited just by a person. But levels rose 7 percent in the group that didn't
get visitors.
Heart pressure dropped 10 percent after the visit by the volunteer and dog. It
increased 3 percent for those visited by a volunteer and 5 percent for those
who got no visit. Lung pressure declined 5 percent for those visited by a dog
and a volunteer. It rose in the other two groups.
Study called
impressive
Gillinov said the study was
especially impressive because of the hard data it provided.
"It helps to legitimize that the intervention is more than something nice
and something extra to do for the patient, that it has physiologic
benefit," said Janet Parkosewich, a nurse at
Cole said she hopes the study, funded by Pet Care Trust Foundation, a
non-profit that promotes the value of animals in society, helps show that pet
therapy is a credible addition to patient care, not just a nicety.
In
"It makes the hospital seem less like a hospital, and it lowers people's
blood pressure," said Marler, who also works for
Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation.
Dogs tested, screened
The dogs used in the study, which ranged from a
poodle to a golden retriever to a miniature schnauzer, were screened carefully
at UCLA and had to pass a behavior test and checkup by a veterinarian, Cole
said.
Dr. George Dennish, a cardiologist at
For bypass patient Danny Smith, being visited by a furry friend was a highlight
of his stay at Scripps Memorial.
"It was very relieving because all they want to do was give you
love," said Smith, 57, of
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