{"id":31832,"date":"2025-11-17T01:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T01:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cats.com\/?p=31832"},"modified":"2025-11-17T01:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T01:09:14","slug":"science-proves-owning-a-cat-is-good-for-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cats.com\/science-proves-owning-a-cat-is-good-for-your-heart","title":{"rendered":"Research Proves Owning a Cat Is Good for Your Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After a long, stressful day, there’s nothing more soothing than cuddling up the couch with a warm, purring cat on your lap. Cat lovers know that being around our feline friends makes us feel good, but science has proven that owning a cat can lead to physical changes in your body, improving your blood pressure and even making your heart healthier.<\/p>\n

Many studies have looked at the benefits of pet ownership, including the mental and physical health benefits of living with a dog or cat. It\u2019s amazing but true: The simple act of petting a cat\u2014or even just sharing your home with a cat\u2014is not only calming, it can lower your blood pressure and boost your overall heart health.<\/p>\n

Owning Cats Reduces Your Risk of Dying From Cardiovascular Disease<\/h2>\n

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In 2009, a decades-long study<\/a> was published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology that demonstrated that cat owners were less likely to die from heart attacks, cardiovascular disease, and stroke when compared to people who did not own cats.<\/p>\n

The study adjusted for different risk factors like the person\u2019s age, gender, ethnicity, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, and body mass index, to focus on cat ownership.<\/p>\n

The research revealed that study participants who owned cats had a much lower risk of dying due to heart attack when compared to people who did not own cats.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a pretty incredible finding!<\/p>\n

There was even more great news for former cat owners. People who used to own cats in the past, but did not currently live with a cat, still had less risk of death due to cardiovascular diseases when compared to people who had never owned cats in their life.<\/p>\n

Owning a Pet Lowers Blood Pressure<\/h2>\n
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The simple act of petting your cat can make you feel good mentally and physically.<\/p><\/div>\n

A recent study published in the journal Hypertension revealed that pet ownership lowers blood pressure.<\/p>\n

The 48 study participants all had high-stress jobs. The participants were randomized into two experimental groups. All participants had hypertension and received the ACE inhibitor blood pressure medication lisinopril, but only half of the participants owned pets.<\/p>\n

Each day, the study participants\u2019 blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma renin activity were recorded, both at baseline and after \u201cmental stressors\u201d (tasks designed to be mentally stressful).<\/p>\n

This study was interesting because it showed that although the drug lisinopril lowered resting blood pressure for all the participants, owning pets lowered blood pressure response to mental stress, something that the drug alone could not do.<\/p>\n

An Abundance of Research<\/h2>\n

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The aforementioned scientific studies are just two of many investigations into the link between pet ownership and a healthy heart.<\/p>\n

In fact, so many studies have been undertaken on this topic that the American Heart Association published a Scientific Statement<\/a> to \u201ccritically assess the data regarding\u00a0the influence of pet ownership on the presence and reduction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and CVD risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few highlights from the AHA\u2019s Scientific Statement include:<\/strong><\/p>\n