A couple of weeks ago I became certified to give first aid & CPR.  The day I completed my training, I surprisingly came across this article on five songs that could save a life.

A study showed that students at the University of Illinois Medical School needed to be put off from doing CPR until they could get the correct rhythm.  They had the students listen to the Bee Gees “Staying Alive” song while practicing.  When they were told to perform CPR and think of the song, they were able to increase the compressions 4 compressions per minute more than what they were normally performing.  NPR gave their suggestions on what songs might help with giving other first-aid procedures or situations, but I thought I’d give my suggestions:

• “Hot n Cold” by Katy Perry when treating a burn victim.  You need to stop the burning and cool it as quickly as possible. Then depending on how bad the burn is, treat accordingly.
• “Heartbeats” by The Knife if someone is having a heart attack.  If the victim is conscious see what pain they are experiencing and call 9-1-1.  If they’re unconscious look for signs of life a “heartbeat” and if not, perform CPR if certified.
• “Shake it Fast” by Mystikal if someone is having a stroke.  It’s hard to remember the acronym “F.A.S.T” (F= Face, A=Arms, S= Speech, T=Time) when looking for symptoms of a stroke victim so maybe remembering Mystikal’s song will help instead.
• “Push it” by Salt n Pepa when performing the Heimlich Maneuver when someone is choking.  The counts in the chorus are perfect for pushing in and up on the counts to get whatever they’re choking on.
• “Smack my Bitch Up” by Prodigy when performing CPR.  Let’s face it; the beats in this song are perfect for getting your adrenaline running and getting the compressions right.  You however may want to sing the song in your head or you’re going to get a lot of stares.

NIECEE’s TAKE AWAYS:

• What get’s Your Adrenaline Going? Everyone has at least one song that gets their adrenaline going. In the movie Taxi it was “This Will Be” by Natalie Cole for Jimmy Fallon to drive a cab in order to get Queen Latifah to the ER.  What’s your song?