Can music improve stress, anxiety and overall health in patients with coronary heart disease?

This study reviewed the effect that listening to music has on stress and health in patients with coronary heart disease. 

Coronary heart disease is a heart disorder caused by narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Blood vessels become blocked due to a buildup of fatty depositis such as cholesterol.

Individuals with coronary heart disease often feel distressed due to diagnosis, hospitalization, surgical procedures, uncertainty of outcome, fear of dying, doubts about progress in recovery, and feelings of helplessness and loss of control. Such adverse effects put patients at greater risk for complications, including sudden cardiac death and heart attack. It is therefore important to target both the psychological and physcial needs of cardiac patients.

This study looked at the benefits of music on stress and anxiety, as well as on overall health, among caridac patients. The study reviewed 26 trials (total of 1,369 participants) that compared standard care with or without music intervention among persons with coronary heart disease.

The results indicated that music intervention has a moderate beneficial effect on stress and anxiety in coronary heart disease patients, especially those with a heart attack. Furthermore, studies found that when patients were allowed to choose their own music, greater anxiety-reducing effects were found that were consistent across studies. The results also suggest that listening to music may reduce heart rate, respiratory rate (the speed of breating), blood pressure, pain, and improve patients’ quality of sleep following a cardiac procedure or surgery. 

The study indicates that listening to music may have beneficial effects on stress and anxiety in coronary heart disease patients, and helps improve overall health. 

The studies included in this review are at high risk of bias, therefore these findings need to be interpreted with caution and further research is needed to clarify the benefits of listening to music among coronary heart disease patients.