Washington - Just a few minutes spent patting a dog can relieve a heart patient's anxiety and perhaps even help recovery during a visit to the hospital, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

The effects were much more pronounced than when heart failure patients visited with a human volunteer or were left quietly alone, the researchers told a meeting of theAmerican Heart Association in Dallas.

"This therapy warrants serious consideration as an adjunct to medical therapy in hospitalized heart failure patients. Dogs are a great comfort," said Kathie Cole, a registered nurse at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles who led the study.

"They make people happier, calmer and feel more loved. That is huge when you are scared and not feeling well."

Stress can worsen heart disease, but Cole said no one had scientifically investigated whether simple stress-relieving measures such as petting an animal might help in a way that could be measured.Cole's team found that a 12-minute visit with a dog helped patients' heart and lung function by lowering pulmonary pressure, reducing the release of harmful hormones and decreasing anxiety. [...]