Taylor Swift and Beyonce CPR: life saving songs first aid

The American Heart Association has announced Taylor Swift’s recently released song You’re Losing Me(From the Vault) has the perfect tempo to perform a lifesaving manoeuvre — CPR.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) the organisation wrote: “The lyrics might be heartbreaking but the beat could be heart-saving.”

The song has 103 beats per minute, “the right tempo for Hands-Only CPR”.

The Australian Resuscitation Council has backed this announcement, recommending the use of any songs with 100 beats per minute to aid in the recall of how fast to perform chest compressions in CPR

“Anything we can do to get any generation to learn and to perform CPR is a big benefit,” Council Member on the Australian Resuscitation Council Janet Bray said.

“Bystander CPR rates are fairly low in Australia. Only 39% of people who have a cardiac arrest in the community get bystander CPR.

“We’re looking at ways to improve CPR training because a big barrier to people not performing CPR is they feel they don’t know what to do and they feel like they might harm the person by doing it,” she said.

CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed to restart the heart when it stops beating in the event of a cardiac arrest.

CPR compression rate should be performed at 100-120 beats per minute, which is similar to the rhythm of many popular songs.

Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive is the most popular song to perform CPR to, but now Taylor Swift’s You’re Losing Me (From the Vault) has joined its ranks, which is ironic if you listen to the lyrics.

“Stop, you’re losin’ me,” she sings. “I can’t find a pulse/ My heart won’t start anymore.”

Beyonce’s Virgo’s Groove is also a recent song deemed perfect for CPR with 108 beats per minute.

But with over 26,000 cardiac arrests occurring in Australia every year Dr Bray says more people should learn how to perform CPR — whether it’s through a video or by attending a first aid course.

“Its not that hard to perform and all you really need is two hands,” she said.

“We need to raise awareness about the benefits of CPR and how to perform it, as well what a defibrillator is.”

“They are really easy to use — they provide you with verbal instructions when you turn them on and anyone can use them even children.”

Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are used to assist people with cardiac arrests by delivering an electrical shock or defibrillation to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

“Any attempts at resuscitation is better than nothing at all, but an ambulance should be called first and foremost and they will guide anyone through how to do it,” Dr Bray explained.

“I do encourage everyone to learn the basics of where you put your hands on the chest, how far to push — hard and fast is what we recommend.”

“You don’t need to do the breaths any more, except for in children. Its all about pushing down on the chest and getting a defibrillator if one is available.”

These steps should be followed before staring CPR and the phrase “doctor’s ABCD” — DRS ABCD — will assist you in remembering the first letter of each step.

– Check for Danger

– Check for Response

– Send for Help

– Check their Airway

– Check for normal Breathing

– Start CPR

– Defibrillation