Can Pets Lower Your Blood Pressure? What the Research Says

Pets can lower your blood pressure in the moment and seem to soften your body's reaction to stress, but their effect on long-term resting blood pressure is small and the research is mixed. A dog or cat is a pleasant addition to a healthy lifestyle, not a replacement for treatment.

Does petting a dog lower your blood pressure?

In the short term, it often does. Several lab studies have measured people's blood pressure while they interact with an animal, and stroking a dog tends to produce lower readings than talking to another person.

One classic experiment from 1988 recorded blood pressure and heart rate in 60 students while they spent time with a dog. Their blood pressure was lowest while they were petting the dog, a little higher while they were talking to it, and highest while they were talking to the researcher. The authors concluded that touch was the main ingredient of this "pet effect", with thoughts and attitudes playing a smaller part.

That fits what many owners describe: the slow, repetitive act of stroking an animal feels calming, and the body seems to agree.

Can a pet help your body cope with stress?

There is decent evidence that it can, at least during stressful moments. Pet owners in several studies showed smaller blood pressure spikes under pressure and recovered faster afterwards.

The best-known work comes from psychologist Karen Allen and colleagues:

• The couples study (2002). Researchers tested 240 married couples, half of whom owned a pet. Participants did mental arithmetic and held a hand in ice water, either alone, with their spouse, with their pet (non-owners had a friend instead), or with spouse and pet or friend together. Pet owners started with lower heart rate and blood pressure, reacted less to both stressors and recovered faster. Among owners, the calmest readings came when the pet was in the room.
• The medication study (2001). Forty-eight people with high blood pressure were all treated with the drug lisinopril, and half were also randomly assigned to get a pet. The medication lowered resting blood pressure by about 35/20 mmHg in both groups. But when participants faced mental stress, the pet owners' readings rose far less: an average systolic value of 131 versus 141 mmHg.

These are striking results, but they are small studies, largely from one research team. They show that a pet can buffer short bursts of stress. They do not show that a pet will cure high blood pressure.

Do pet owners have lower blood pressure in general?

Possibly slightly, but large population studies do not agree. Some find a modest advantage, others find none.

• A 2020 analysis of the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey looked at 10,905 adults who were asked about pets. After adjusting for age, smoking, income and other factors, pet owners were less likely to have high blood pressure (odds ratio 0.67).
• A 2020 meta-analysis pooling 26 studies found that pet owners had a systolic blood pressure about 1.7 mmHg lower on average, with no meaningful difference in diastolic pressure and no difference in how common hypertension was.
• A Swedish register study of about two million people aged 45 to 80 found the opposite of what you might expect: dog owners were very slightly more likely to start blood pressure medication (hazard ratio 1.02). The authors noted that factors they could not fully measure might explain this.

So the honest answer is that any long-term difference is small. A couple of mmHg can matter across a whole population, but it is far less than what medication, exercise or cutting down on salt typically achieve.

Why might animals affect blood pressure at all?

Researchers suggest a few overlapping explanations. None of them is fully proven, and they probably work together.

1. Touch and relaxation. Stroking an animal appears to be the strongest short-term factor in lab studies.
2. Hormones. A small 2003 study measured blood chemistry after people spent quiet, affectionate time with dogs. Oxytocin, beta-endorphin and dopamine rose in both people and dogs, while the stress hormone cortisol fell in the people.
3. Support without judgment. Allen described pets as "nonevaluative" social support. A dog does not grade your performance, which may be why owners stayed calmer with their pet in the room than with their spouse. This sense of companionship also connects to how pets can ease loneliness.
4. Movement. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that regular walking or playing with pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Daily walks are one reason dogs get so much attention in heart research, as we explore in whether dog owners really get more exercise.

What do heart experts say?

The American Heart Association reviewed the evidence in a 2013 scientific statement and concluded that pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. That "probably" matters.

Glenn Levine, who chaired the writing committee, stressed that the research was not definitive. "It may be simply that healthier people are the ones that have pets," he said, rather than pets causing the lower risk. That problem of cause and effect runs through almost every study in this field.

Should you get a pet to lower your blood pressure?

Not as a treatment. When the statement was published, the message accompanying it was that even with a likely link, people shouldn't adopt, rescue or buy a pet solely to reduce cardiovascular risk. If your blood pressure is high, the proven steps come first: regular checks, a conversation with your doctor, medication where it is prescribed, movement, less salt and alcohol, and not smoking.

A pet is a commitment of ten years or more, with real costs and responsibilities. The best reason to bring one home is that you want that companionship and can care for it well. If you do, the calmer moments on the sofa and the extra walks are a welcome bonus for your heart, even if science cannot yet say exactly how big that bonus is.