Own a cat, cut stroke risk
London, Mar 19: Cat owners rejoice as having the feline creature as pet reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than a third, researchers have found. Scientists said owning a cat helped to relieve stress and anxiety, known to help protect against heart disease by lowering blood pressure and reducing the heart rate.
The
study
looked
at
4,435
adults
aged
between
30
and
75,
about
half
of
whom
owned
a
cat.
The
findings
revealed
that
5.8
per
cent
of
those
who
did
not
own
a
cat
died
from
a
heart
attack
over
10
years,
while
the
rate
for
cat
owners
was
3.4
per
cent,
the
Daily
Telegraph
reported.
Cat
owners
were
also
less
prone
to
developing
strokes
or
heart
attacks
after
taking
into
account
other
factors
like
high
cholesterol
levels,
smoking
and
diabetes.
Prof
Adnan
Qureshi
of
Minnesota
University,
who
carried
out
the
study,
said
he
was
surprised
by
the
effect
that
owning
the
friendly
and
sociable
animal
appeared
to
have.
''The logical explanation may be that cat ownership relieves stress and anxiety and subsequently reduces the risk of heart disease,'' he said.
He said the reason could be that stroking the pet could cut the level of stress-related hormones in the blood, which helps protect against heart disease.
Prof Qureshi added that the type of person who owned a cat was usually already fairly stress-free and at low risk of heart disease.
UNI