British Heart Foundation Curates ‘Lifesaving’ Playlist On Beat With CPR
By Nicole Rodrigues, 25 Oct 2022
By now, many would be well aware that the best song to perform CPR on someone in need is the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive, a classic and appropriately-titled song that pumps out the right beats per minute (BPM) for medics and trained volunteers.
According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), though, that isn’t the only song that produces the right rhythm. So to direct new CPR students to the right tunes to practice with, the Your Lifesaving Beats Playlist was set up with Spotify to give practicers more options.
All the tracks range between 100 and 200 BPM, which is the ideal tempo for training. There are genres for various preferences—such as Indie, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Dance—and a curation of artists including Kasabian, Lizzo, Liam Gallagher, and Kate Bush.
The BHF popularized Stayin’ Alive in a campaign with actor Vinnie Jones that showed how the tune’s rhythm worked when counting during CPR. After seeing how more and more people identified the song with the lifesaving tool, the organization began to see how impactful music could be.
The songs are hosted on a dedicated website where those interested can compile into personalized playlists and then enter a 15-minute course to learn how to perform CPR at home with BHF’s free RevivR program. Users can also view other people’s playlists and share theirs with friends and family through social media.
According to BHF, immediate CPR and defibrillator response to a patient who has suffered cardiac arrest can double their chances of survival in some cases. Unfortunately, surveys have shown that more than a third of adults in the UK have not undergone any training.
[via The Drum and British Heart Foundation, cover image via British Heart Foundation]