Heart Institute researchers say Taylor Swift's music could help save lives

The singer's songs have the optimal tempo for effective chest compression during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an urgent medical procedure aimed at restoring the vital functions of the body and bringing it out of a state of clinical death. It includes artificial lung ventilation (artificial respiration) and chest compressions (indirect cardiac massage) and is crucial for increasing a person's chances of survival after cardiac arrest.

For effective CPR, it is necessary to maintain a chest compression rate of 100 (not more than 120) compressions per minute - and more than 50 songs from Swift's repertoire are suitable for this, say researchers from the Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University.

Their findings were presented at Swiftposium 2024 - a scientific conference dedicated to Taylor Swift.

"One-quarter of people who have a heart attack never make it to the hospital, and we know that the survival rate of cardiac arrest can be significantly increased with cardiopulmonary resuscitation," says Steven Nichols, director of the Victorian Heart Institute. "Music plays a key role in supporting effective CPR. Since iconic songs become outdated, identifying new songs with optimal beats per minute for training is extremely important."

For a long time, the song "Stayin' Alive" by the British pop group Bee Gees was used as a "metronome" to determine the timing of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In one episode of the cult series "The Office," its application during training can be seen (although, of course, it's all in jest).

The Bee Gees song was released back in 1977, so it is unlikely to be familiar to younger generations. Researchers suggest using the work of a musician who is currently extremely popular.

"If you can use something that people like and expand their ability to feel confident in mastering skills that could save someone, then that is truly powerful," Nichols says.

Researchers have created a convenient diagram with Swift's songs indicating the number of beats per minute for each:

In 2023, Taylor Swift's name was almost never out of the headlines - concerts with her participation caused seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, ticket sales for her film concert broke records, and in the end, Time magazine named the singer "Person of the Year."

Source: New Atlas