So I last blogged on my birthday and I celebrated my birthday… We had a LOT of fun… Then the next day we attended a beautiful wedding of a close friend, then spent time with family, then shouted at my TV as the new football season began, then did some work in the garden… And by the end of all that, I needed my own bed…
Yes indeed, we went to bed very early last night so that I could be fresh for the demanding and busy week ahead… Someone else had other ideas…
Our cat jumped on top of us on several occasions in the night… Purred, meeowed, prodded me and preened himself in between Katie and I and when I gave him his breakfast early this morning, I found it tough to smile at him in the usual way… Needless to say that he won’t be allowed upstairs tonight…
However, there are many health benefits to be gained from having Spooky in our life and home according to an interesting piece of research…
Basically, those of us with cats are far less likely to have a heart attack than those without.
The study, which looked at 4,435 Americans aged 30 to 75, showed that those who did not have a cat had a 40% higher risk of having a heart attack and a 30% greater risk of dying from other heart diseases than those who have or have had a cat. For those without a previous history of heart attacks, taking statin medications (e.g., Mevacor, etc) results in less than 2% decrease in heart attack deaths.
How we treat high cholesterol is an example of how money drives medical decision making. Taking cholesterol medications decreased heart attacks by 29% and in those without angina or a previous heart attack, taking statin medications (e.g. Mevacor, etc) did not significantly prevent death from heart disease according to this piece of research. Taking a baby aspirin daily was even more effective than expensive statin medications. (I used to love ‘Junior Disprin’ as a youngster)
On the other hand, the news is much better for cat owners. A research study found that having a cat can reduce stress in people’s lives, and consequently lowers the risk of having a heart attack or stroke or developing a heart disease. The findings are based on a 10-year study, carried out by the researchers at the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota. The study showed that those who did not have a cat had a 40% higher risk of having a heart attack and a 30% greater risk of dying from other heart diseases than those who have or have had a cat.
The study was presented at the American Stroke Association meeting in New Orleans. Several studies have confirmed that owning a pet reduces stress, decreases blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduces risk of depression. This makes cats (and other natural alternatives such as self-hypnosis) much safer, cheaper and more fun than cholesterol lowering medications!
I must say that I love having a cat… I always had dogs around in my family home growing up and never thought I’d love having a cat around as much as I do… I love him and he seems to know that I am unlikely to hold any lengthy grudges for him interupting my beauty sleep when it was most needed last night… At least he is giving that impression whilst curled up on my lap as I write this!
So I guess that having the cat and my regular daily self-hypnosis sessions are likely to be keeping my ticker very healthy indeed…Just need to master the good nights sleep and I will have perfected things… 😉
