To lower blood pressure, experts recommend listening to Mozart & Strauss, but not ABBA

More medical experts are beginning to question how effective statins are in lowering blood pressure (BP). Rather than take pills, German researchers are recommending listening instead to classical, not pop music.

In particular, scientists at Ruhr University are suggesting listing to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss, reports The Telegraph. Listening to the work of these two classical composers is equivalent to reducing salt from the diet or exercising, according to their study.

In particular, the scientists played Mozart’s No 40 in g minor, dances by Strauss and ABBA songs which 60 volunteers listened to. Their blood pressures were monitored before and after listening to the music. Mozart lowers systolic BP by 4.7 mm Hg, Strauss by 3.7 mm Hg, but ABBA had no impact on the BP.

Music by the two classical composers also lowers diastolic BP by 2.1 mm Hg for Mozart and 2.9 mm Hg for Straus. Systolic is the first number which measures the pressure in blood vessels when the heart beats, while the diastolic, the second number, measures when the heart rests between beats.

Hans-Joachim Trapper, lead author, says, “It has been known for centuries that music has an effect on human beings. In antiquity, music was used to improve performance in athletes during the Olympic Games.” The research, published in Deutsches Artzteblatt International journal, explains that Mozart’s No 40 in g minor is beneficial for cardiocirculatory systems due to the special arrangement of its compositional elements.

On the other hand, Strauss’s dances are known for its simple structures, catchy melodies and periodically recurring forms that were composed for entertainment with catchy harmonic sequences and no distinctive dissonances. ABBA’s music may have no impact on BP because of emotional factors since it has words, while the two only uses notes. The study points out that spoken words could have a negative role in controlling hypertension.

As it is, pharmaceutical giants are already under pressure amid a new study of 31,000 patients that beyond a certain point, statins have no difference in protecting cardiovascular patients from problems such as heart attacks, angina or strokes. The benchmark was 70 mg/DL. Below that level, the impact of statins were negligible, reports Express.

VIDEO: Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550