Can Having a Cat Lower Your Heart Attack Risk?

Feb. 22, 2008— -- Beth Birnbaum says she has experienced firsthand the health benefits of owning a cat.

For over 20 years, Birnbaum has been battling painful chronic diseases such as fibromyalgia, arthritis and degenerative disk disease. The best medicine for her pain, Beth found, did not come from a prescription, but instead from her relationship with her adopted cat, Misty.

"Just last week I was on sofa, and in so much pain that I was crying and couldn't get up," Birnbaum explained. "And Misty is not a lap cat by nature, but she came over to me, hopped on the sofa, lied down next to me and put her head on my shoulder and started purring away."

"I can't really explain it, the feelings I have in those moments," Birnbaum said. "My pain didn't go away, but it was truly eased."

And new research suggests the benefits of cat ownership may even go beyond pain relief. According to the study, presented Thursday at the American Stroke Association meeting in New Orleans, cat owners may actually be less likely to die from heart attack, stroke or other types of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Stroke Research Center looked at 4,435 people, aged 30 to 75 years, who were participating in ongoing national government health research from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study.

They found that over a 20-year period, those who had never owned a cat had a 40 percent greater risk of death due to heart attack and a 30 percent higher risk of death due to any sort of cardiovascular disease than previous or current cat owners. Researchers found no such protective effects for dog owners.

"This study links pet ownership to health consequences, and that's very new concept that we haven't previously considered," said lead study investigator Dr. Adnan Qureshi, executive director of the Stroke Center at the University of Minnesota.

To many veterinary experts, these findings came as no surprise.