Lifesaving chest compressions near-perfect when done to disco hit

A dose of "Saturday Night Fever" might help mend a broken heart.

The Bee Gees' disco anthem "Stayin' Alive" from 1977 has 103 beats a minute, close to the number of chest compressions needed for cardiopulmonary resuscitation to work, according to a study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. Students who listened to the tune while practicing CPR on a dummy learned to give the right number of pumps, an abstract of the research in the Annals of Emergency Medicine said.

The rhythm stayed in their heads. Five weeks later, the participants delivered compressions at 113 beats a minute, still an acceptable range. Ten doctors and five medical students took part in the experiment.

``This was a small study, but the results are encouraging enough that a further study, using a larger and more diverse population, is warranted,'' said David Matlock, one of the researchers, in a statement distributed by the American College of Emergency Physicians. The results will be presented at a meeting of the Dallas-based group later this month, in Chicago.