Your cat at your home keeps your heart attack or stroke risks away. Yes, that’s the fact that a new study has revealed about your cats.

The new study has revealed that a cat at home could cut your heart attack or stroke risk by almost a third. The study has articulated that cat owners have a much lower risks of dying from a heart attacks or strokes.

The study led by Prof Adnan Qureshi of the Minnesota University has found that owning a cat can help in relieving stress and anxiety, which is known to help protect against cardiovascular problems by lowering blood pressure and reducing the heart rate.

Analyzing a data of 4,435 adults, aged between 30 and 75, about half of whom owned a cat, the team of researchers found that cat ownership was related to a 40% lower risk of suffering a fatal heart attack. The researchers tracked rates of death from all causes, including heart and stroke. The study found that having a cat may reduce stress and anxiety, and so protect against cardiovascular disease.

According to the study, some 3.4% of those who owned a cat during the duration of the study died from a heart attack, compared with 5.8% of those who did not. The researchers found that even those who no longer owned a cat benefited from these protective effects. The benefits held true even after the researchers adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol.

Lead author of the study, Prof Adnan Qureshi said, "The logical explanation may be that cat ownership relieves stress and anxiety and subsequently reduces the risk of heart disease."

According to Prof Qureshi, the cat owners "appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks" over 10 years of follow-up compared to feline-free folk, adding the magnitude of the effect -- a 30 per cent reduction in heart attack risk -- "was a little bit surprising".

Prof Qureshi said, "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."

However, researchers warned against impulsive cat purchases. They affirmed that cats may indeed have a calming effect, but it was unclear whether the kind of people who opted for a cat in the first place may have a lower risk of heart attack. However, the research did not examine the advantages of having a dog, although previous research has suggested this too may have health benefits above and beyond taking them for walks.
According to the Pet Health Council, "there is an increasing amount of research proving that contact with animals can bring real physiological and psychological benefits including reducing stress, helping to prevent illness and allergies, lowering blood pressure, aiding recovery and boosting fitness levels.”

Thus, the study has shown that pet owners make fewer annual visits to the doctors than non pet owners. The findings of the study were unveiled at the International Stroke Conference.