Remember the song that swept over the airwaves when the whole world was “all board” the blockbuster film “Titanic”? If you forget, it was called “My Heart Will Go On.”

Though Celine Dion’s a heck of a singer, I wasn’t crazy about the song then, and I’m not crazy about it now. I’ll tell you what I am crazy about, though: The fact that hearts go on (and on and on), simply by listening to one’s favorite flavor of music. Researchers say that music can actually strengthen the heart.

When you think about it, this finding makes sense, if for nothing else than all the times the heart is inflected with respect to music. How often do we hear someone say a song “fills my heart with joy,” or that a specific song “speaks to the heart”?

The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Michael Miller, decided he’d investigate what impact music had on blood flow to and from the heart by inviting 10 participants to bring in their favorite kind of music. (Knowing that music helps people feel better, why not see if it actually makes someone better?) He and his team of researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center performed a series of ultrasound tests on the participants while they listened to their favorite lyricists.

After just 30 minutes of listening, the participants’ blood vessels widened by an average of 26 percent, according to the ultrasound results. Any dilation of the blood vessels is a good thing, because it encourages smoother blood flow to and from the heart. Constricted blood vessels make for labored blood flow, increasing the likelihood of stroke and heart attack.

What was especially interesting about the study was when participants listened to music they didn’t like. When they listened to more strident, unharmonious samples of music – strident and unharmonious to the participants, at least – their blood vessels actually constricted, by an average of six percent. (Now you can legitimately say to your son or daughter that their blaring obnoxious is not only hurting your ears, but your heart as well.)

Of course the thing to take away from this study is the fact that listening to music can literally make the heart stronger. So much stronger, researchers say, that the smoothness with which blood flows to and from the heart is reminiscent of the way blood flows when one laughs or exercises – two heart healthy activities. Perhaps this helps explain why music improves athletic performance; the increased blood and oxygen flow gives the heart and muscles a more efficient outlet for energy.

So, whether it’s Celine Dion or Dionne Warwick, Fall Out Boy or Boy Meets Girl, U2 or 2Pac, Rise Against or Against Me, keep that music playing: your heart will thank you and like Celine says, your heart will go on (and on, and on, and…).