Now a study has
found that in fact music can strengthen the heart - and improve the recovery of
patients suffering from heart disease.
Cardiologists
said the findings suggested that all people could boost the health of their
hearts simply by listening to their favourite tunes.
Patients with
cardiac disease were divided into three groups. Some were enrolled in exercise
classes for three weeks.
Others were put
in the same classes, but also told to listen to music of their choice at any
point for 30 minutes every day. A third group only listened to music, and did
not take cardio-vascular exercise, which is usually prescribed to those with
heart disease.
At the end of
the trial, the patients who had listened to music as well as exercising had
boosted crucial measures of heart function significantly, and improved their
exercise capacity by 39 per cent.
The group which only took aerobic exercise improved their capacity by 29
per cent. Even those who took no exercise and only listened to their favourite
music for half an hour a day improved their exercise function by 19 per cent,
the study of 74 patients found.
The measures of improved heart
function included improved endothelial function, which is necessary to maintain
the body's vascular response.
The findings, presented at the
European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Amsterdam, suggested that
the release of key hormones while listening to music was behind the changes.
Prof Delijanin Ilic, the lead
investigator, from the Institute of Cardiology, University of Nis, Serbia,
said: "When we listen to music we like then endorphins are released from
the brain and this improves our vascular health. There is no 'best music' for
everyone - what matters is what the person likes and makes them happy."
She said other studies examining the impact of
music suggested there might be some types of music which were less good for the
heart - with heavy metal more likely to raise stress levels, while opera,
classical and other types of 'joyful' music were more likely to stimulate
endorphins.
Prof Ilic said: "It is
also possible that it is better to have music without words, because it is
possible that the words themselves can upset the emotions."
Although the study was carried
out on patients suffering from heart disease, she said she believed the
findings were likely to apply to a wider population, since it is already known
that exercise boosts coronary health in healthy people.
Prof Ilic said:
"Listening to favourite music alone and in addition to regular exercise
training improves endothelial function and therefore may be an adjunct method
in the rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease. There is no
'ideal' music for everybody and patients should choose music which increases
positive emotions and makes them happy or relaxed."
1. The group which only took aerobic exercise
improved their capacity by 29 per cent. Even those who took no exercise and
only listened to their favourite music for half an hour a day improved their
exercise function by 19 per cent, the study of 74 patients found.
This sentence using relative pronoun because to
modifying noun from word the group that doing exercise and the group only
listened their favourite music.
2.
She
said other studies examining the impact of music suggested there might be some
types of music which were less good for the heart - with heavy metal more
likely to raise stress levels, while opera, classical and other types of
'joyful' music were more likely to stimulate endorphins.
This
sentence using past tense because to explain before that time someone already
studied about examining the impact of music suggested there might be some types
of music which were less good for the heart.
3.
Now a study has
found that in fact music can strengthen the heart - and improve the recovery of
patients suffering from heart disease.
This sentence using
present perfect tense because there are (has + found)
