Circulation：养宠物或减少心脏病风险

　　近日公布的一项新研究表明，拥有宠物尤其是狗可能减少罹患心脏病的风险，目前尚不清楚这是否直接减少这种风险；研究还提示，尽管这种正相关，人们还是不应仅仅因为减少心脏病风险而领养宠物。美国心脏学会（AHA）专家委员会主席Glenn N. Levine博士在回顾分析既往关于宠物对人体健康影响的研究后得出上述结论。他还表示，是否是领养或获得宠物的行为导致了那些之前就存在疾病人群的心血管风险降低尚需进一步研究。

　　该项研究显示，拥有宠物可能与心脏病危险因素减少和患者生存增加相关，尤其是拥有狗。拥有狗的人群因遛狗而进行体育锻炼活动可能更多。在一项纳入超过5200例成人的研究显示，拥有狗的人群比无宠物狗的人群走路和体力活动更多，且超过54%的人群更可能达到推荐水平的体力活动。

　　另外，拥有宠物可能与较低水平的血压和胆固醇水平及肥胖发生率较低相关。宠物在人体应对压力方面发挥着积极的作用。

　　相关文章在线发表于《循环》（Circulation）杂志。

与心脏病相关的拓展阅读：

• 先天性心脏病相关性肺动脉高压诊治专家共识(下）
• 先天性心脏病相关性肺动脉高压诊治专家共识(上）
• Nature：自发性突变引起先天性心脏病
• AP&T：慢丙肝与代谢性疾病及心脏病相关
• PLoS ONE：胆固醇诱发老年性痴呆症和心脏病的作用机制 更多信息请点击：有关心脏病更多资讯

Pets may help reduce your risk of heart disease
Having a pet might lower your risk of heart disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement.
The statement is published online in the association’s journal Circulation.
“Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease” said Glenn N. Levine, M.D., professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and chair of the committee that wrote the statement after reviewing previous studies of the influence of pets.
Research shows that:
•Pet ownership is probably associated with a reduction in heart disease risk factors and increased survival among patients. But the studies aren’t definitive and do not necessarily prove that owning a pet directly causes a reduction in heart disease risk. “It may be simply that healthier people are the ones that have pets, not that having a pet actually leads to or causes reduction in cardiovascular risk,” Levine said.
•Dog ownership in particular may help reduce cardiovascular risk. People with dogs may engage in more physical activity because they walk them. In a study of more than 5,200 adults, dog owners engaged in more walking and physical activity than non-dog owners, and were 54 percent more likely to get the recommended level of physical activity. 
•Owning pets may be associated with lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and a lower incidence of obesity.
•Pets can have a positive effect on the body’s reactions to stress.
“In essence, data suggest that there probably is an association between pet ownership and decreased cardiovascular risk,” Levine said. “What’s less clear is whether the act of adopting or acquiring a pet could lead to a reduction in cardiovascular risk in those with pre-existing disease. Further research, including better quality studies, is needed to more definitively answer this question.”
Even with a likely link, people shouldn’t adopt, rescue or buy a pet solely to reduce cardiovascular risk, Levine said.