Do you like listening to music? Keep doing it, because it may be good for your heart. Preferably at least half an hour every day. This is shown by a scientific study by the University of Belgrade among patients who have had a heart attack. The patients who listened to music for half an hour every day had less anxiety, pain and heart complaints.
Relax
Regular music sessions can help to relax more, according to the researchers, and that is beneficial. “Because stress increases heart rate and blood pressure. And this also puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels.', explains Nelleke van der Houwen, science information officer at the Heart Foundation.
The right genre
The researchers selected patients who continued to suffer from chest pain (angina pectoris) after a heart attack. They searched for the best type of music for each patient:the right genre, the most optimal tempo and the right tones. The patients listened to this music for 30 minutes a day, preferably in a quiet place with their eyes closed.
Fewer complaints due to music
After seven years, the patients who followed the music sessions appeared to have fewer complaints than patients with standard treatment.
Fewer medical interventions were needed and they had:
less anxiety
less chest pain
less often need bypass surgery
less suffering from heart failure
less often a heart attack and died less often
Future Music
This was a small-scale study. More research is needed to definitively determine whether music has a positive effect on the heart. However, it does not hurt to take a moment of rest every day. Music can help with that.
The researchers will continue to analyze the data. They want to know whether music sessions really benefit your heart and for which patients or age this applies.
