A study that was done by Mayo Clinic found that having a pet dog could actually boost the health of your heart.

Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, reported that when a dog boosts your mood, it actually boosts your heart health too.

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez added, “What we found was that those who own a pet, particularly a dog, were healthier from the cardiovascular standpoint.”

Over 1700 people were involved in the study, and none of them had a history of heart disease. All of them were from Brno, Czech Republic.

42 percent of the people owned a pet and 24 percent of them were owned a dog.

The study found that people who had dogs with them got regular exercise, ate healthily, and had better blood sugar levels.

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez said that Choco, his own dog, helped in the research that they did.

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez explained, he said, “He will be nagging me until we go out — maybe for a short walk, maybe throwing him balls. But what I realize is that anything that I do with my dog will imply physical activity.”

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Exercising helps improve the overall health of the heart as it helps you maintain healthy body weight and glucose levels.

So when you go on a walk or run with your dog, you are actually improving your own health too, and not only this. The study also found out that dogs also improved the spirits and the mental health of their owner’s

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez said dogs show love, a cheerful attitude, expressing affection, and loyalty.

This makes the owner less sad and helps them boost up their mood when they are down.

The study found that dogs help people to feel less lonely, and this could significantly decrease the risk of getting a heart attack.

Own a dog, and improve your health!