washington good news for pet owners having a pet particularly a dog may lower your risk of heart disease according to new research pet ownership particularly dog ownership is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease said glenn n levine professor at baylor college of medicine in houston texas in a statement levine also chaired the committee that reviewed previous studies of the influence of pets and wrote the statement pet ownership is probably associated with a reduction in heart disease risk factors and increased survival among patients but studies arent definitive and dont 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 the study suggested in a study of more than 5200 adults dog owners engaged in more walking and physical activity than nondog owners and were 54 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 bodys reactions to stress in essence data suggest that there probably is an association between pet ownership and decreased cardiovascular risk he said