Pet Ownership and Pet-Walking after Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Pet for Every Heart Attack

 Sagheer Shazib   James C. Blankenship

Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation after acute Myocardial Infarction (MI) decreases mortality. Pet ownership in general, dog ownership in particular, and regular dog-walking in addition correlate with improved post-MI outcomes. We propose an adjunct to conventional post-MI cardiac rehabilitation involving acquisition of a dog with a program of dog-walking. We hypothesize this will enhance the beneficial effects of cardiac rehabilitation with respect to physical and psychological outcomes.