The long-term effect of music on hypertensive patients

Previous studies of physiological responses to music showed the reduction of blood pressure (BP) under various medical conditions. However, the long-term lasting effect of music on hypertensive patients has not been systematically investigated. In this study, 30 subjects aged 63-93 years were enrolled and randomly assigned into either a music group (n=15) or a control group (n=15). There were no significant differences between two groups in initial BP values, age, and gender. Subjects in the music group listened to selected music, 25 min every day for 4 weeks. Four subjects dropped from the experiment due to a change of medical conditions or personal reasons. Immediately and 4 weeks after the completion of 4-weekpsilas music treatment, the average changes for the music group (n=12) in systolic BP (SBP) were -.7plusmn18 mmHg (p=0.01) and -10.3plusmn17.2 mmHg (p=0.04), in diastolic BP (DBP) were -4.6plusmn9.8 mmHg (p=0.22) and 4.0plusmn13 mmHg (p=0.24), respectively, whereas there were no significant changes in SBP or DBP for the control group (n=14). The results suggested that listening to a certain type of music may reduce high SBP and the effect could last up to four weeks.