<tr><td colspan="2"><div class="mxb"><h1>Opera 'is music for the heart' </h1> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="storybody"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="226"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45958000/jpg/_45958549_000060808-1.jpg" alt="Pavarotti" border="0" height="170" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="226"> <div class="cap">Listening to Pavarotti sing the Nessun Dorma could help stroke rehabilitation</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --><p class="first"><b>Listening to the right kind of music can slow the heart and lower blood pressure, a study has revealed.</b></p><p>Rousing operatic music, like Puccini's Nessun Dorma, full of crescendos and diminuendos is best and could help stroke rehabilitation, say the authors. </p><p>Music is already used holistically at the bedside in many hospitals. </p><p>Not only is it cheap and easy to administer, music has discernible physical effects on the body as well as mood, Circulation journal reports. </p><!-- E SF --><p>Music with a faster tempo increases breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, while slower-pace music does the reverse. </p></td></tr>