Who knew the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” really can help people stay alive? Well apparently it can, in a procedure known as “Hands Only CPR” which instead of using a more traditional mouth to mouth recussitation requires pressing hard and fast on the chest of the victim of cardiac arrest (or heart attack). This has been proven to be equally as effective as traditional CPR according to the American Heart Association and can double the vitim’s chances of survival.

The reason “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees song is effective is because it has over 100 beats per minute and Hands Only CPR is most effective at 100 beats per minute. The American Heart Association still encourages traditional CPR if you’re knowledgeable in how to do it, but the Hands Only CPR method is better than not doing anything at all, which is unfortunately, what happens in a lot of cases because people panic and fearing doing anything might make the situation worse for the victim. Sadly it’s the inaction that ultimately causes more death because people fear you need formal CPR training to help someone having a heart attack.

With reason like this to know that “Stayin’ Alive” can actually help save someone’s life in the event of a heart attack, perhaps the best thing to do is make sure to have an MP3 of the “Stayin’ Alive” on your iPod or cell phone at all times to help you carry the beat in the event you need to assist someone with some Hands Only CPR. Just remember to call 911 or the emergency number in your area first, then play the song and start pumping the victim’s chest rapidly to the beat. Click here to get the song from Amazon.com or click here to get the song from iTunes.

To learn more about one man’s life who was already saved with “Stayin’ Alive” click here. To learn more about Hands Only CPR, visit the American Heart Association by clicking here. And to learn more about traditional CPR and where to take classes, check out the resources by clicking here. Special thanks to my good friend Andy Andrews for pointing me to the article linked above.

And for those more morbidly inclined with their humor, apparently Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” is also effective in Hands Only CPR even if themeatically not quite as good as Stayin’ Alive. Click here to get “Another One Bites The Dust” from Amazon.com or click here to get it from iTunes.

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