{"id":719,"date":"2012-10-31T12:09:42","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T12:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/?p=719"},"modified":"2021-07-26T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T12:30:30","slug":"how-dogs-are-good-for-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/how-dogs-are-good-for-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"How Dogs are Good for your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2988\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2988\" class=\"wp-image-2988 size-medium lazyload\" title=\"Oscar chewing my shoe\" data-src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1.jpg 640w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 200\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2988\" class=\"wp-image-2988 size-medium\" title=\"Oscar chewing my shoe\" src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Oscar-chewing-my-shoe-1.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-2988\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">image: Oscar, (c) Dr David R Hamilton<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I just had to write this blog because a little 8-week old Labrador puppy joined our family last week (that&#8217;s him in the photo). We&#8217;ve called him &#8216;Oscar&#8217;. He\u2019s a bundle of cuteness, extremely playful, and also VERY fond of chewing his way through just about anything left lying on the floor.<\/p>\n<p>We all know how much love dogs have to share, but I also wanted to share with you why they are good for your health, and especially for your heart.<\/p>\n<p>Research shows that interacting with a dog elevates levels of the hormone <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oxytocin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">oxytocin<\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/dn16412-pet-dogs-rival-humans-for-emotional-satisfaction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In one study<\/a>, 20 minutes of positive interaction with a dog elevated oxytocin levels by around 20%.<\/p>\n<p>You may wonder what that means. Well, oxytocin is known as a cardioprotective hormone, in that it helps to protect the cardiovascular system from damage. It works in two main ways.<\/p>\n<p>First, it binds to the lining of the blood vessels to stimulate the production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide then dilates (widens) the arteries, causing blood pressure to be lower.<\/p>\n<p>People familiar with angina medication may know of \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Glyceryl_trinitrate_(pharmacology)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">glyceryl trinitrate<\/a>\u2019 (nitroglycerin). It\u2019s a medicine that basically delivers 3 lots (tri-) of nitric oxide to do the same job.<\/p>\n<p>Second, research into how cardiovascular disease develops identified <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Free-radical_theory_of_aging\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">free radicals<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Inflammation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">inflammation<\/a> as two processes that play a major role. When oxytocin was added to test tubes containing stressed cells, free radical levels dropped by up to 48% depending on the cell type, and inflammation by up to 57%.<\/p>\n<p>Oxytocin is very good for the heart!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019ll come as no surprise, then, to learn that in men who have had a heart attack, the chances of a second one for those who have a dog is 400% lower then for those who don\u2019t have a dog, a statistic that has moved many cardiologists to write \u2018get a dog\u2019 into their prescriptions.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, walking the dog also provides much needed exercise and is also a de-stressor, so this also contributes to cardiovascular health. These are obvious, but \u00a0I wanted to mention oxytocin because hardly anyone knows about how powerful a role it plays.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t tell you how much I love having little Oscar in our lives. Watching him play brings a tear to my eyes. I joked with my partner, Elizabeth, that as she\u2019s an actress, this is her first Oscar. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>In only a week, he has brought so much love and joy into our home, as well as naughtiness! Two of my good shirts are now sporting teeth marks and holes.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll keep you updated from time to time on my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DavidRHamiltonPhD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> page and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrDRHamilton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> feed with how he\u2019s getting on as he grows and, hopefully, stops chewing stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Note: My book, \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Why-Kindness-Good-For-You\/dp\/1848501781\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1351674864&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=why+kindness+is+good+for+you\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why Kindness is Good for You<\/a>\u2019 is about the best resource I know of for the cardiovascular benefits of oxytocin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I just had to write this blog because a little 8-week old Labrador puppy joined our family last week (that&#8217;s him in the photo). We&#8217;ve called him &#8216;Oscar&#8217;. He\u2019s a bundle of cuteness, extremely playful, and also VERY fond of chewing his way through just about anything left lying on the floor. We all know&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,164,165],"tags":[159,160,161,12,26,85,162,82,163,15,166],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Dogs are Good for your Heart - David R Hamilton PHD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I just had to write this blog because a little 8-week old Labrador puppy joined our family last week (that&#039;s him in the photo). 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