THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON HEART RATE Application in a Surgical Theatre A New Forefront of Music Therapy? Craig McKenzie

A CREATIVE COMBINATION Images from Microsoft PowerPoint ClipArt Collection

BACKGROUND  Music therapy has been used to calm recovering patience for decades  Traditionally, music in a concert setting evokes different emotions  Different genres evoke different emotions  Heart rate changes with a change in music genre  Classical music is know for its calming effects  Heavy metal music may stimulate action  Chemical cocktails are already used in the O.R. to speed or slow heart rate  Doctors listen to music during surgery  Often doctors are know as the “Rock and Roll Doctor” or the “Jazz Doctor”

THE PROBLEM?  Music therapy should be extended to the O.R. to not only boast patient comfort but also be used in conjunction with medications to stabilize a desired heart rate  A simple research study could test how dramatic or the mere existence of a correlation between heart rate and music genre

TWO HYPOTHESIS’ TO TEST Primary HypothesisApplied Hypothesis  If the type of music is changed from a “soothing style” with slow tempus to an “active style” with a rapid tempus, then the heart rate of the listener will rise. There is a direct correlation between music style and heart rate.  If there exists a direct correlation between music style and heart rate, then music can be fed to the patient in the O.R. to supplement the additional medications because music is able to influence the heart rate in a human patient

RESULTS? Pro’sCon’s  Can always be supplemented by medications  No harm done; music is natural  A cheap option to introduce  If anything, may keep patience more comfortable  Music therapy is already accepted in most areas  Most likely will not replace medications  Not fully quantitative

CONCLUSION:  Music is not new to healthcare  Emotions change with changing musical styles  Heart rate is influenced partially by emotions  Music styles could be used to influence heart rate in the O.R.  Surgeons already listen to their own choice of music during surgery  Music could supplement existing medications during an operation or treatment  The hypothesis in this presentation are simply testable