[Stress reduction through listening to music: effects on stress hormones, hemodynamics and mental state in patients with arterial hypertension and in healthy persons].

Stress hormones, tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen, left-ventricular diastolic function and mood immediately before and after listening to three different kinds of music (a waltz by J. Strauss, a piece of modern classic by H. W. Henze, and meditative music by R. Shankar) were measured in 20 healthy persons (10 women, 10 men; mean age 25 [20-33] years) and 20 hypertensives (8 women, 12 men; mean age 57.5 [25-72] years). To recognise haemodynamic effects, mitral flow by Doppler ultrasound was used as a measure of left-ventricular diastolic function. Atrial filling pressure (AFF) was calculated from the flow integral (VTI) of the early E and the late A waves. The Zerssen scale was used to estimate the immediate mood of the subjects. In hypertensives the levels of cortisol (74 vs 78 ng/ml; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.3 vs 4.5 ng/ml; P < 0.05) were lower after than before the Strauss waltz. The muscle by Henze lowered the concentrations of cortisol (70 vs 84 ng/ml; P < 0.05), noradrenaline (203 vs 224 ng/l; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.1 vs 4.6 ng/ml; P < 0.05). After listening to the piece by Shankar the concentrations of cortisol (71 vs 78 ng/ml; P < 0.05), adrenaline 14.5 vs 24.5 ng/ml; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.2 vs 4.3 ng/ml; P < 0.05) were lower. In healthy subjects AFF (29 vs 26%; P < 0.05) rose after the Strauss music, VTI-E fell (69 vs 73 mm; P < 0.05, while natriuretic peptide rose (63 vs 60 pg/ml; P < 0.05.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)