Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Cats Prevent Heart Attacks

February 22, 2008

Cats Prevent Heart Attacks

I suppose some people don’t know how great cats are Here is news of a study showing that those with cats are less likely to have heart attacks.

Whether it’s a frisky kitten or a tubby tabby, a cat at home could cut your heart attack risk by almost a third, a new study suggests.
…
In the new study, Qureshi’s team analyzed data on 4,435 Americans, aged 30 to 75, who took part in the federal government’s second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, which ran from 1976-1980. According to the data in the survey, 2,435 of the participants either owned a cat or had owned a cat in the past, while the remaining 2,000 had never done so.

Qureshi’s team then tracked rates of death from all causes, including heart and stroke. Cat owners “appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks” over 10 years of follow-up compared to feline-free folk, Qureshi said. The magnitude of the effect — a 30 percent reduction in heart attack risk — “was a little bit surprising,” he added. “We certainly expected an effect, because we thought that there was a biologically plausible mechanism at work. But the magnitude of the effect was hard to predict.”

This is just one more example of cat power. As we have shown before: cats can be photographers and also protect you from bears.

Have a nice weekend.

by curiouscat Tags: Cats, Health Care, Students
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4 Responses to “Cats Prevent Heart Attacks”

Yoko Says:
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 am
This is awesome. I think I’m going to adopt a cat later. hehehe. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.
Rich Hoeg Says:
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
It’s hard to understand how having Cyrus (i.e. Psycho) in our life here at the Hoeg’s is helping my health, but I have always found your blog, John, to deliver good, honest news and commentary. Still, it’s kind of hard to believe… Click on my name to view how the “Cyrus stole Christmas”!
Bob Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
This is great news! - really it is. It’s all the more reason to love the cute little mammals, don’t you think

However, I don’t quite understand HOW they prevent heart attacks. Is this attributed to the feel-good factor of having a cat? (i.e. feel good, less stress, less stress-related disease).

And if it’s due to the feel-good factor, then I guess dogs could be included in that equation, couldn’t they? Plus the added health benefit of ‘taking the dog for a walk’.
Ben Says:
March 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Nice story. I read a similar story a few years ago about cats’ purring. Apparently it is good for healing broken bones.