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Expert QA

Can listening to music improve heart health?

By Nicole Gregory for Live Right Live Well

Yes! A new study found that people who listened to music that made them feel good had a 26 percent increase in blood flow in their brachial artery, located in the upper arm, for about an hour afterward. This increase in blood flow indicates that the blood vessel expanded, which reflects a healthy output of nitric acid, a good-for-your-heart chemical that makes blood vessels function better and helps regulate blood flow, explains study leader Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Anxiety-provoking music, on the other hand, had the opposite effect. When study participants listened to music that made them feel anxious, their blood flow decreased by 6 percent.

“Our working hypothesis is that the brain releases endorphins in response to feeling happy, and this, in turn, [produces nitric oxide, which] activates the inner lining of the blood vessels to dilate,” says Dr. Miller. And because nitric oxide widens the arteries, it can also lower blood pressure. So, could listening to feel-good music be a simple way to prevent or even reverse high blood pressure? “We did not test this specifically, but based on previous research finding evidence of decreased blood pressure, it certainly is plausible,” says Dr. Miller.

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	<h2>Expert QA</h2>
<h1>Can listening to music improve heart health?</h1>
<p>

<p>By Nicole Gregory for <em><a href="http://www.liverightlivewell.com">Live Right Live Well</a></em></p>
</p>

<img src="http://www.liverightlivewell.com/partner/content/worldnow-ftp/archive/2011-07-18/expertqa/music_hearthealth/images/large.jpg" width="170" height="130" alt="Can listening to music improve heart health?"/>
	<p>Yes! A new study found that people who listened to music that made
them feel good had a 26 percent increase in blood flow in their
brachial artery, located in the upper arm, for about an hour afterward.
This increase in blood flow indicates that the blood vessel expanded,
which reflects a healthy output of nitric acid, a good-for-your-heart
chemical that makes blood vessels function better and helps regulate
blood flow, explains study leader Michael Miller, M.D., director of the
Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical
Center. Anxiety-provoking music, on the other hand, had the opposite
effect. When study participants listened to music that made them feel
anxious, their blood flow decreased by 6 percent.</p>

<p>“Our working hypothesis is that the brain releases endorphins in
response to feeling happy, and this, in turn, [produces nitric oxide,
which] activates the inner lining of the blood vessels to dilate,” says
Dr. Miller. And because nitric oxide widens the arteries, it can also
lower blood pressure. So, could listening to feel-good music be a
simple way to prevent or even reverse high blood pressure? “We did not
test this specifically, but based on previous research finding evidence
of decreased blood pressure, it certainly is plausible,” says Dr.
Miller.</p>
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