NEW ORLEANS — Spending just 30 minutes a day listening to rhythmically homogeneous music — anything from classical to Celtic to Indian — has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, researchers found. The key was to combine listening with breathing exercises, said Gianfranco Parati, M.D., of the University of Milan-Bicocca in Milan, Italy. The music, he said, helps patients concentrate on slow, abdominal breathing with an inspiration/expiration ratio of 1:2. Dr. Parati presented results of a small, randomized trial at the American Society of Hypertension meeting. Dr. Parati was not, however, an investigator with the study, which was done by Pietro A. Modesti, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Florence, and colleagues. Dr. Modesti was unable to attend the meeting. The study recruited 48 volunteers, ages 45 to 70, with mild hypertension. All patients were receiving pharmacological treatment. The researchers randomized 20 patients (mean age 65) to the control group and 28 (mean age 60) to 30 minutes a day of music combined with the breathing exercise. Patients selected their own music from offered choices that included classical, Celtic, and Indian. The primary endpoint of the study was mean change in ambulatory 24-hour systolic […]