Managing hypertension, or high blood pressure, is probably all in the rhythm, a team of engineers and musicians has found.

They claim that their research could pave the way for “music-based non-pharmacological cardiovascular therapies”.

People with high blood pressure respond positively while listening to “predictable” music, the researchers said, in a presentation to a European Society of Cardiology conference held in Madrid, Spain, from Aug 29 to Sept 1 (2025).

“Like language, music has patterns and phrases which form expressive structures, and this is often what strikes a chord with listeners,” said Britain’s King’s College London engineering lecturer Prof Dr Elaine Chew.

“More predictable music phrase structures have a bigger impact in regulating the cardiovascular system,” added the trained pianist, whose colleagues had study participants sit through “original recordings of legendary performances by master pianists”. 

The team said they changed the “expressivity” of the tunes “in systematic ways” – rearrangements they said helped them “observe the effect on cardiovascular variables” in patients.

“Some music has more predictable phrase structures, which can add to the enjoyment of listeners,” the researchers said.

“There are likely to be biological and social advantages to being able to coordinate our actions to an external rhythm, such as people on a boat synchronising their rowing,” said Prof Chew, who, in her prior research, has found music to have a similarly calming effect on heart rate and respiration. – dpa