by Rose Broyles

How does a disco song save a heart attack victim? Crazy right? Not so according to some doctors in Chicago.  I was watching my favorite morning news show, “The Today Show” a couple of months ago and they did their medical segment on heart attack prevention tips. Doctors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria discovered that the song “Stayin’ Alive” the 70′s disco hit from the Bee Gees might actually help save your life.

In fact, a man from Florida who suffered a  heart attack while jogging was saved by a man who remembered the song used as the latest technique from a CPR class he took.  The American Heart Association recommends chest compressions at a rate of 100 per minute. “Stayin’ Alive” is about 103 beats per minute, almost exactly that.

Compressing too slow does not generate enough bloodflow. Compressing too fast doesn’t allow the heart to properly fill up between each compression; Humming along with the song will give proper rhythm while performing chest compressions. (and you thought CPR was hard. ) These songs you definitely won’t forget.

If you don’t like disco, you might want to try Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” which has the same type of beat.

Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”

Queen “Another One Bites the Dust”

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