Owning a cat can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than a third, researchers have found. Scientists said that having a cat helped to relieve stress and anxiety, which is known to help protect against heart disease by lowering blood pressure and reducing the heart rate.
The 10-year study looked at 4,435 adults aged between 30 and 75, about half of whom owned a cat. The findings, presented at a stroke conference in America, showed that 3.4 percent of the cat owners died from a heart attack over 10 years. Among the group who had never owned a cat the rate was 5.8 percent.
Cat owners still had a much reduced chance of developing strokes or heart attacks when researchers took account of other factors known to trigger heart disease, including high cholesterol levels, smoking and diabetes.