I was surprised to learn that many clinicians use Queen's Another One Bites the Dust to maintain the best rhythm for performing CPR. Sure, it might have 100 beats per minute. But is that the message the clinician should have in her head when trying to resuscitate someone?
Surely more appropriate is the Bee Gees' 103-beat-per-minute Staying Alive.
Other songs to help you maintain the right compression rate include:
- Lay Your Hands on Me (Bon Jovi)
- Kickstart My Heart (Motley Crue)
- Dancing Queen (Abba)
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Diana Ross)
- Thank God I’m a Country Boy (John Denver)
- Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson)
Thing is, Another One Bites The Dust is used ironically here. The dark humour makes it easier to recall a song that has the right BPM.
ReplyDeleteYou can also use Weird Al Yankovic's parody, "Another One the Buss," since your patient will be riding the Boo-Boo Bus to the hospital. And it is socially acceptable. Or at least as socially acceptable as Weird Al ever gets/
DeleteI personally think another one bites the dust for cpr because it helps to not crush me when I am called off of preforming cpr. Most encounters I have personally have had with cpr are called by a paramedic/medical command. I work and volunteer in ems
DeleteJust don't sing it as you save them I guess.......
ReplyDeleteI had to learn cpr when my youngest kid had heart surgery. We were trained on staying alive.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever need to do cpr people will look at me wondering why I'm singing
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk
Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around
Fantastic post.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed reading it and it held my attention all the way through! Keep it up.
Read my Latest Post
Um Kick start my heart is 179 BPM. this is terrible advice as the first aider will surely burnout faster. The current recommendation is Baby Shark or any song that is 115 bpm.
ReplyDeleteSeems they care more about "sounding appropriate" than actually saving lives. Baby shark is a hilarious & good song for cpr lol
DeleteI'm a EMT. I've worked 15 cardiac arrest and I sing "another one bites the dust in my head every single time". It's funny and ironic. We have a dark sense of humor. You have to. We deal with death 12 hours a day non stop, if you don't find humor somewhere you'll burn out. As long as you're singing it in your head and not in front of the family does it really matter?
DeleteFrom working nursing homes and living with death on a regular basis, and acknowledging Queen as one of the greatest bands of all time, (alongside The Beatles, Springsteen and many others) I have to say that Another One Bites The Dust is probably the heaviest rhythm to do CPR.
DeleteJust don't sing it out loud, then? The family doesn't have to know what songs you're using as you do CPR.
ReplyDeleteAnother one bites the dust takes off a bit of the bite of the panic and tragedy, and if you're in the medical field, you have to have a bit of dark humor so as to not burn out faster.
Sing whatever the heck song you think will help you bring me back, you have my permission.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that. Sing Queen all you want. I like that song :)
ReplyDelete