The study is called "'Stayin' Alive:' A Pilot Study to Test the Effectiveness of a Novel Mental Metronome in Maintaining Appropriate Compression Rates in Simulated Cardiac Arrest Scenarios."
Translation: Will the beat of "Stayin' Alive" help people do CPR compressions at the proper rate?
Here's the news release from the American College of Emergency Physicians:
Medical students and physicians who were trained to do chest compressions as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while listening to the pop song "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees maintained close to the ideal rhythm of 100 compressions per minute, as set by the American Heart Association, even weeks after completing their training.
The research will be presented today at Research Forum, during Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Chicago.
"Properly performed CPR can triple survival rates for cardiac arrest, but many people hesitate to jump in because they don't feel confident about maintaining the proper rhythm," said researcher Dr. David Matlock of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Il. "Our research subjects felt that listening to 'Stayin' Alive' improved their ability to perform chest compressions at the proper speed, and indeed their performance even five weeks later was excellent."
Ten physicians and five medical students enrolled in the study and practiced chest compressions while listening to the hit song from the movie Saturday Night Fever, "Stayin' Alive," recorded by the Bee Gees.
"Stayin' Alive" has 103 beats per minutes, which is almost exactly the rate at which chest compressions should be performed. Five weeks later, the subjects were re-tested without listening to the music, and they performed chest compressions at an average rate of 113 beats per minute, which is within the acceptable range. There was no loss in technique between the first and second assessments, and research subjects reported feeling more confident about performing CPR as a result of the musical training.
"This was a small study, but the results are encouraging enough that a further study, using a larger and more diverse population, is warranted," said Dr. Matlock. "A number of pop songs have the right rhythm for CPR, but of course the meaning of 'Stayin' Alive' is pretty powerful when you are trying to save someone's life.
Numerous studies have shown that CPR can make the difference between life and death when someone is in cardiac arrest, but bystanders still hesitate to do it. If we can develop an easy way for people to remember the proper rhythm, that's a great step toward encouraging bystanders to do CPR."