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Show J pets are wonderful Four-Legged Cures If you suffer from heart disease or stress, a cuddle a day may keep the doctor away. But if hugs are hard to come by, the next best thing may be a dog or a cat in the lap, scientists say. A study at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore Bal-timore found that heart patients pa-tients who own pets have a better chance of survival than those who don't. The study involved 92 coronary disease patients who had suffered heart attacks at-tacks or severe chest pains. One year after hospitalization, hospitali-zation, nearly one third of the patients without pets died. During that same period pe-riod only 3 of the 53 patients pa-tients with pets died. Research indicates that pets also encourage exercise, especially jogging, which strengthens heart muscles. Scientists have also discovered discov-ered that for those people with high blood pressure, silence is indeed golden, and that a quiet friend like a dog or cat can soothe owners' own-ers' nerves. |