'Stayin' Alive' Can Actually Help You Stay Alive

The Bee Gees' great disco song Stayin' Alive can put the beat back into a stopped heart. At 103 beats per minute, the 1977 pop standard provides the perfect rhythm for performing CPR. In a study at the University of Illinois medical school, doctors and students produced the ideal number of chest compressions during CPR while listening to the peppy falsetto tune from the John Travolta movie Saturday Night Fever.

Study author Dr. David Matlock said few people realize how quickly chest compressions must be performed to start and keep a heart pumping. The American Heart Association, which uses Stayin' Alive as a CPR instructor training tool, recommends 100 compressions per minute, a considerably faster rate than most people think. When performed properly, CPR can triple the survival rate from cardiac arrest, but few people attempt it because they're not sure of the proper rhythm. According to Dr. Matlock, compressing the chest to the beat of Stayin' Alive will keep you on track.