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SFL Friday -- Stayin' Alive

It's Friday again, huh? I hope you all -- like myself -- have fabulous plans for the weekend.

Speaking of fabulous plans, did any of you catch this BBC report on the salutary effects of Bee Gees music on cardiovascular health:

US medics have found the Bee Gees' 1977 hit Stayin' Alive is an ideal beat to follow to perform chest compressions on a victim of a cardiac arrest.

Research says it contains 103 beats per minute, close to the recommended rate of 100 chest compressions per minute.

An author of the study said many people were put off performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)as they were not sure about keeping the correct rhythm.

He said CPR could triple cardiac arrest survival rates when performed properly.

The study by the University of Illinois College of Medicine saw 15 doctors and students performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on mannequins while listening to Stayin' Alive. They were asked to time their chest compressions with the beat.

Five weeks later, they did the same drill without the music, but were told to think of the song while doing compressions.

The average number of compressions the first time was 109 per minute; the second time it was 113 - more than recommended by the American Heart Association, but better than too few, according to Dr Matlock.

"It drove them and motivated them to keep up the rate, which is the most important thing," he told the Associated Press.

I always knew that music could drive up your heart rate, but now there is scientific evidence it can save your life! So keep that Bee Gees Greatest loaded up, you never know when it might come in handy.

Well that's it fellas, I'm off to beat an early retreat. As some of you have already predicted, I have a very busy weekend ahead of me.

I hope you all have a great one.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).