KNOWING the Macarena could help save a life. Spanish researchers have found humming along to the catchy '90s hit could help people perform better quality, possibly life-saving, CPR.
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The University of Barcelona team found people mentally singing the La Macarena could keep in time to the recommended 100 to 120 compressions per minute better than those not humming along.
According to NSW Ambulance, other songs can also be used as a mental aid to help with quality compressions.
"You can even use Stayin' Alive [by the Bee Gees] as a guide, as long as the beat is 100 to 120 beats per minute," paramedic Evan Steinle-Davies said.
Guidelines for CPR are updated regularly.
Mr Steinle-Davies said the best way to perform CPR on an adult is to expose the chest, find the sternum, and push one-third of the way down with two hands for 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
"The guidelines for first responders is to just compress. Don't worry about mouth-to-mouth," he said.
NSW Ambulance responds to about 7000 cardiac arrests out of hospital each year with about a 10 per cent survival rate.
Mr Steinle-Davies said it has been clinically proven that early CPR and defibrillation offers the best chance for survival.
"The earlier someone starts CPR, the survival rate increases dramatically."
America's New York Presbyterian Hospital has created a list of songs to perform CPR to.
The 47 songs, brought together on a playlist on music streaming platform Spotify, is designed to help people keep the right tempo fresh in their minds.
The songs include:
- I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
- Cecilia - Simon and Garfunkel
- Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
- Dancing Queen - ABBA
- MMMBop - Hanson
- Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
- Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
Though not included on the playlist, Queen's Another One Bites the Dust could also be an option, with a tempo of 110 beats per minute.
But alas, CCR (Credence Clearwater Revival) isn't suitable for CPR, with the band's hit Bad Moon Rising falling just short of the required tempo at 90 beats per minute.
Have a listen to the playlist:
