The 10-year study, done by the researchers at the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota, involved 4,435 Americans, aged 30 to 75. Research shows that those who never had a cat had a 40 percent higher risk of having a heart attack and a 30 percent greater risk of death from other cardiovascular disease than compared to those who either have a cat or had cat before.
Previous studies had shown that when people conduct a task that is stressful, they experienced less stress when their pet was with them, giving them mood-enhancing benefits which later leads to reduction in the risk of heart attack.
Researchers believed that having pet is a better and lower-cost medical alternative that may extend or even save lives, most especially for the elderly. Most importantly, having a pet, unlike other treatments such as surgery, does not appear to have any risks at all.
