Dog ownership linked with longer life, especially for heart patients

Dog owners live longer, and canine companionship may be especially good for people with heart disease and those living alone, new research shows. 

“We studied more than 3 million people, and the results are very significant,” said one of the doctors.

People who own dogs have lower blood pressure, healthier cholesterol levels and a milder stress response than those with canine-free homes, researchers noted. Having a pet - even just a cricket in a cage - is also known to relieve stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and social isolation. But studies looking at whether having a dog extends survival have had mixed results. 

To investigate, the team searched through medical literature dating back to 1950 and found 10 studies of dog ownership and survival including a total of 3.8 million people. 

Overall, dog owners were 24% less likely to die over the next decade than non-dog owners. People who’d suffered a heart attack or other cardiovascular event had a 65% reduced risk of dying over the next decade if they owned a dog. Dog ownership reduced overall mortality from cardiovascular causes by 31%. 

Increased physical activity plays a key role in the cardiovascular benefits of dog ownership, said the Dr., noting that her own step count has climbed “sky high” since she adopted Romeo, an energetic miniature schnauzer that she walks at least three times a day. 

In another study researchers looked at 181,696 people who had a heart attack between 2001 and 2012, and 154,617 who’d suffered a stroke over the same period. The heart attack patients who owned a dog and lived alone had a 33% lower risk of having another heart attack, while the risk was reduced by 15% for those who lived with a dog plus a partner or child. For stroke patients living solo, the risk of another stroke was 27% lower, while repeat stroke risk was 12% lower for dog owners who didn’t live alone. 

“Given the magnitude of the potential benefit - and likely little or no harm - these findings should encourage clinicians to discuss pet adoption with their patients, particularly those with preexisting cardiovascular disease and those living by themselves,” said a Dr.

“We’ve known this forever, that pets make our lives better, but to know that the sum of it translates to better cardiovascular health is very exciting for those of us who like dogs and work in cardiology,” the Dr. said. “I’ve wanted a dog for 40 years, and the data finally convinced me.” 

Before adopting a dog, doctors agree, it’s essential to make sure you have the resources to care for it properly. “One has to make space in one’s life to be able to accommodate them before making that leap of faith,” the Dr. said. 

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How To Spot The Critical Signs Of A Brain Aneurysm

It feels like getting hit in the back of the head with a sledgehammer.

That is how a neurosurgeon with the Cerebrovascular Center described the pain of a ruptured aneurysm.

When an aneurysm ruptures, blood spills into the space around the brain, giving affected patients the “worst headache of their life.”

And that’s exactly how  a mother of two and a respected news journalist  described her pain.

“She said it felt like her head was going to explode,” her husband said. Along with her terrible headache, he explained, his wife had a few of the other classic symptoms including a stiff neck, a tingling sensation in her face and sensitivity to light.

“The headache would last a couple of hours, and then it would subside for a day or two,” her husband said. “We talked about her getting it checked out, but she didn’t feel like she had time, so we dismissed it.”

Tragically, those symptoms were the signs of a ruptured aneurysm that would claim her life just three weeks after they started.

Driving Awareness About The Warning Signs
Since her death in March 2015, she had worked hard to make sure other people do not ignore the warning signs. The husband has created a foundation to create public awareness of those signs and symptoms. He explained his motivation to Prevention:

“One thing that has haunted me more than anything else is, how could we not have known? The more I looked into aneurysms, the more I found that there’s no one out there talking about them, and there’s very little public education about the warning signs,” he said. The foundation even paired with others to launch a National Brain Aneurysm Awareness campaign:

Symptoms Of A Brain Aneurysm

The foundation urges you to seek medical attention immediately if you experience any of these symptoms:

• Sudden WHOL—worst headache of life
• Sudden sensitivity to light
• Sudden stiffness of neck
• Sudden sharp pain behind or above one eye
• Sudden blurred or double vision
• Sudden numbness and tingling in facial area
• Sudden loss of consciousness
• Sudden confusion or change of mental status
• Seizure
• Perceived “gun shot” noise or extremely loud “BOOM”
• Drooping eyelid
• Nausea and vomiting

Quick medical attention could mean the difference between life and death.

Steps To Determine If You Have A Brain Aneurysm
To determine if you have an aneurysm, doctors will order a series of tests that may include one or several of the following: a CT scan (CAT scan), a cerebrospinal fluid test, an MRI and a cerebral angiogram.

The doctor notes that screening for unruptured brain aneurysms is “generally not recommended” except in some cases where there is a genetic predisposition to an aneurysm (“A parent or sibling who has had a ruptured brain aneurysm, particularly if you have two such first-degree family members with brain aneurysms.”) or if you were born with a congenital disorder that increases your risk of an aneurysm.

Factors That Can Increase Your Risk

The doctor also highlights the following factors as leading to an increased risk of an aneurysm:

• Older age
• Smoking
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis)
• Drug abuse, particularly the use of cocaine
• Head injury
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Certain blood infections
• Lower estrogen levels after menopause

If you have any concerns about your health, you should contact your doctor.

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Exercise can slow progression of Parkinson’s disease

Exercise can stop accumulation of a harmful protein which is believed to play a central role in the brain cell death associated with Parkinson’s disease, new research has found.

Engaging in exercise on a running wheel can stop the accumulation of the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein in brain cells, showed the study published recently.

Parkinson’s disease causes progressive loss of muscle control, trembling, stiffness, slowness and impaired balance.

“Our experiments show that exercise can get to the heart of the problem in Parkinson’s disease,” said one of the researchers.

“People with Parkinson’s who exercise are likely able to keep their brain cells from dying,” the Dr. added.

The experiment was conducted in a mouse model of Parkinson’s, and the mice in the study, like humans, started to get Parkinson’s symptoms in mid-life. At 12 months of age, running wheels were put in their cages.

The researchers found that in the running mice, exercise increased brain and muscle expression of a key protective gene called DJ-1, compared to control transgenic animals which had locked running wheels.

Those rare humans born with a mutation in their DJ-1 gene are guaranteed to get severe Parkinson’s at a relatively young age.

The researchers tested mice that were missing the DJ-1 gene and discovered that their ability to run had severely declined, suggesting that the DJ-1 protein is required for normal movement.

“Our results indicate that exercise may slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease by turning on the protective gene DJ-1 and thereby preventing abnormal protein accumulation in brain,” Freed said.
He explained that his animal experiments had very real implications for humans.

Parkinson’s is a disease caused by the death of brain cells that make a critical chemical called dopamine. Without dopamine, voluntary movement is impossible.

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