Music - the food of the heart

Wed April 15th, 2009

Heart patients benefit significantly from listening to music, experts reported today.

The effects of music on stress and anxiety associated with heart disease were investigated by Dr Joke Bradt and colleagues at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA, who carried out a review of previous studies. They found that it could decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of anxiety.

In their Cochrane systematic review, they write that heart disease is stressful because of the uncertainties and anxieties surrounding diagnosis and treatment. This stress can compound the pressure on the heart.

The team say that music may help to alleviate stress and therefore reduce risks. They analysed figures from 23 studies, including a total of 1,461 patients. The patients were usually given CDs by healthcare professionals. Results showed that music also improved the patient's mood in many cases.

"Our findings suggest music listening may be beneficial for heart disease patients," said Dr Bradt. "But the trials we looked at were generally small and varied in terms of styles of music used and length of music sessions. More research on the specifics of music listening is certainly warranted."

She added: "We all know that music can impact on our emotions, our physiological responses, as well as our outlook on life, and this early research shows that it is well worth finding out more about how it could help heart disease patients.

"In particular, it would be interesting to learn more about the potential benefits of music offered by trained music therapists, which may be differ substantially from those associated with pre-recorded music."

Bradt, J. and Dileo, C. Music for stress and anxiety reduction in coronary heart disease patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

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Tags: General Health | North America | Heart Health

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