Somebody to heal! The most popular ‘life-saving’ songs of 2019 which have the same tempo recommended for CPR… including hits by Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber
- Vinnie Jones’ demonstration to the tune of Bee Gees Stayin Alive was from 2012
- Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved is the most watched 100-120 BPM song
- MailOnline’s list of CPR tracks comes ahead of International Restart A Heard Day
Ever since Vinnie Jones appeared on our screens demonstrating how to perform CPR, the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive has been the recognised pace-setter for resuscitations.
But the birth of a new generation of first-aiders who may not be familiar with the 1977 classic requires more modern songs to come to the fore.
After International Restart A Heart Day on Wednesday, MailOnline can reveal the most popular chart-toppers of 2019 which Millennial and Generation Z can use as an alternative.
YouTube’s most viewed music video with a tempo of 100-120 beats per minute (BPM) is Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved.
Ever since Vinnie Jones appeared on our screens demonstrating how to perform CPR, the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive has been the recognised pace-setter for resuscitations
YouTube’s most viewed music video with a tempo of 100-120 beats per minute (BPM) is Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved
The 2018 track’s rhythm exactly matches the pace at which the NHS recommends chest compression intervals should be performed.
But while the tempo is usefully upbeat, the lyrics are quite downcast: ‘I’m going under and this time I fear there’s no one to save me.’
A more optimistic tune is the third most popular song – Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s I Don’t Care.
Along with the British Heart Foundation’s Stayin Alive advert from 2012, several other songs have been used to pace CPR in previous years.
Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust and the 1956 Nellie The Elephant have both been used.
But the NHS still promotes footballing hardman Jones’ demonstration on its website.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, known by its acronym CPR, is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including heart attacks or near drowning.
When the heart stops, the lack of oxygenated blood can cause brain damage in only a few minutes.
A person may die within eight to 10 minutes.
CPR can keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until more definitive medical treatment can restore a normal heart rhythm.
Philippa Hobson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said:’You never know when you’re going to need to perform CPR, so it is vitally important that everyone knows what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest.
‘When you see somebody unconscious and not breathing or breathing normally, call 999 and start doing CPR.
‘To give CPR, you need to do 100-120 compressions per minute. When you think of the tempo of songs such as Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees, this can help you do the compressions at the correct speed.
‘Doing something is always better than doing nothing.’
HOW TO PERFORM CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including heart attack or near drowning, in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.
When the heart stops, the lack of oxygenated blood can cause brain damage in only a few minutes. A person may die within eight to 10 minutes.
CPR can keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until more definitive medical treatment can restore a normal heart rhythm.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that everyone – both untrained bystanders and medical personnel alike – begin CPR with chest compressions.
This is because the song has a rhythm of 103 beats per minute, which is close to the rate of at least 100 chest compressions per 60 seconds that should be delivered during CPR
CPR doubles the survival rate of patients who go into cardiac arrest even though only about eight percent of CPR patients are saved by the procedure, even when backup help is called immediately
To learn CPR properly, take an accredited first-aid training course. CPR for adults is different than for children and infants.
The American Heart Association uses the acronym of CAB – compressions, airway, breathing – to help people remember the order to perform the steps of CPR.
1. Compressions: Restore blood circulation
- Make sure the person is on their back on a firm surface
- Kneel next to the person’s neck and shoulders
- Place the heel of one hand over the center of the person’s chest, between the nipples and place your other hand on top of the first hand
- Keep your elbows straight and position your shoulders directly above your hands
- Use your upper body weight to push straight down on (compress) the chest between two and 2.4 inches
- Push hard at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions a minute
- If you haven’t been trained in CPR, continue chest compressions until there are signs of movement or until emergency medical personnel take over. If you have been trained in CPR, go on to checking the airway and rescue breathing.
2. Airway: Clear the airway
- If you’re trained in CPR and you’ve performed 30 chest compressions, open the person’s airway using the head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver
- Put your palm on the person’s forehead and gently tilt the head back.
- Then with the other hand, gently lift the chin forward to open the airway
- Check for normal breathing, taking no more than five or 10 seconds. Look for chest motion, listen for normal breath sounds, and feel for the person’s breath on your cheek and ear
- If the person isn’t breathing normally and you are trained in CPR, begin mouth-to-mouth breathing
3. Breathing: Breathe for the person
- With the airway open (using the head-tilt, chin-lift maneuver), pinch the nostrils shut for mouth-to-mouth breathing and cover the person’s mouth with yours, making a seal.
- Give one breath for one second and, if the chest doesn’t rise, do a second breath
- Thirty chest compressions followed by two rescue breaths is considered one cycle
- Continue CPR until there are signs of movement or emergency medical personnel take over.
Sources: Mayo Clinic and American Heart Association
