Music Can Make the Heart Beat Faster

HealthDay, June, 2009 by Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter

Loud music made hearts beat faster and blood pressure go up, while softer passages lowered both heart rates and blood pressure, a new study shows.

It's the latest word on how music affects the cardiovascular system, from researchers at Pavia University in Italy. Their earlier studies found that music with quicker tempos had people breathing faster, with increased heart rate and blood pressure, while slower tempos produced opposite effects.

The findings "increase our understanding of how music could be used in rehabilitative medicine," study author Dr. Luciano Bernardi, a professor of internal medicine at Pavia, said in a statement. The report appears in the June 22 online edition of Circulation .

It's a lesson that already is being put to medical use, said Dr....

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