Avis Ward

CPR to the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive Could Save Lives



Posted: Friday, October 17, 2008

by
GeoVi's Home for Pregnant Teens

A recent study has found, "Stayin' Alive might be more true to its name than the Bee Gees ever could have guessed: At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart."

The study's author, Dr. David Matlock of the University of Illinois Medical School said, "The American Heart Association recommends 100 chest compressions per minute, far more than most people realize." Students are said to have maintained close to the ideal number of chest compressions doing CPR while listening to the catchy, sung-in-falsetto tune from the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever."

CPR can triple cardiac arrest survival rates when properly performed but it was reported that many people hesitate to do it because they're not sure about keeping the proper rhythm, according to Dr. Matlock.

His study involved 15 students and doctors and had two parts. First they did CPR on mannequins while listening to the song on iPods. They were asked to time chest compressions with the song's beat.

Five weeks later, they did the same drill without the music but were told to think of the song while doing compressions.

The average number of compressions the first time was 109 per minute; the second time it was 113. That's more than recommended, but Matlock said that when it comes to trying to revive a stopped heart, a few extra compressions per minute is better than too few.

"It drove them and motivated them to keep up the rate, which is the most important thing," he said.

The study showed the song helped people who already know how to do CPR, and the results were promising enough to warrant larger, more definitive studies with real patients or untrained people, Matlock said.

The life-saving technique was reported to work on real patients in actual life and death situations. A medical resident stated he also heard that 'Another One Bites the Dust' also works but did not feel it was quite appropriate.

Note: The American Heart Association and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

2008 by Avis Ward

Avis is founder of El Elyon Outpouring Center, an Empowerment Outreach Ministry emphasizing God’s Unconditional Love and Grace and GeoVi’s Home for New Life, a nonprofit providing faith, hope, and love to teens, pregnant teens and their babies. She's CEO of Providential Coaching, a Christian Life coaching practice teaching young women how-to turn within for divine direction to learn and follow the plan God has for their lives. She's the host and creator of Devoted Housewives in the House of God, an Internet Radio Talk Show. Speaker, Seminar Leader and an Ambassador of Love. Avis respectfully acknowledges her deceased parents as her role models, and the hero and heroine in her life.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Susan Thom
 3 years 115 days ago.
175 fans.
hi avis,
 
this was a well written, interesting article, and when i think about it, it makes sense. thanks for sharing with us,
 
best regards,
 
sue
» left by Avis Ward 3 years 114 days ago.
131 fans.
Sue, thank you for finding this article interesting. I found the study interesting (obviously) and thought it would be very good information to pass along. Yes, it does make sense. I've mimicked the compressions with the tune in my head. With my warped sense of humor, I laughed at the "Another One Bites the Dust" song that would work, too. Quite inappropriate indeed but if that's the first one that comes to mind, I'd use it to save a life. Warmest regards, Avis.
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