The Benefit of Pets and Animal-Assisted Therapy to the Health of Older Individuals

Table 4

Studies on the use of animals in cardiovascular disease.

Study	Type of study		Summary of results
Friedmann and Thomas [50]	Retrospective data analysis	424	Dog owners less likely to die 1 year after MI
Friedmann et al. [51]	In-person interview survey	96	Pet owners had higher 1-year survival after CCU discharge
Ruzic et al. [52]	Prospective, controlled, unblinded, longitudinal study	59	Subjects walking dogs regularly achieved a higher workload on a bicycle exercise test ()
Friedmann et al. [53]	Retrospective data analysis	460	Pet owners implant with defibrillator more likely to survive
Cole et al. [54]	Randomized, controlled, unblinded study	76	Subjects exposed to an animal had significantly better hemodynamic and neurohormonal parameters
Abate et al. [55]	Observational intervention group, historically case-controlled study	69	Subjects with dog-assisted ambulation walked significantly greater distance
Parker et al. [56]	In-person interview survey	424	Pet owners more likely to have cardiac morbidity and mortality one year after admission for an acute coronary syndrome