Learning CPR, as in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, seems pretty straightforward when you’re in the certification classroom learning how to do it on a dummy.
But in the heat of the moment — like when you come across someone in cardiac arrest — it’s 100 percent possible to get a little flustered and forget all that you’ve learned about this life-saving practice.
CPR requires certification for good reason. Practitioners need to know everything from how to properly inflate a person’s lungs with your own breath to a very specific form of hands-on chest compression. Since not everyone is at a Grey's Anatomy level of comfort with CPR, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital created a playlist of songs that boast the perfect beat to time those CPR compressions. Yes, really.
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Buzzfeed reporter Julia Reinstein announced this discovery on Twitter after becoming CPR-certified at the New York-Presbyterian.
All of the songs on this Spotify playlist have a tempo of 100 to 120 beats per minute, which also happens to be the exact rate students are taught to give CPR compressions, Health reports. The playlist, dubbed “Songs to do CPR to” features 47 songs — likely to have spots on your own playlists — that are not only toe-tappers, but help you save lives to boot.
Some standout songs include high-energy jams like Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” to more mellow tunes like “Hey Soul Sister” by Train and “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall. Surprisingly, Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” doesn’t hold a place on the list — perhaps it wasn’t the right beats per minute? Otherwise, that’s a huge oversight!
It’s worth noting that this very handy playlist is only helpful for hands-only CPR compressions. Meaning, when a person is pressing their hands into the middle of someone’s chest without using mouth-to-mouth, according to the American Heart Association.
To fit with the theme of the season, sing “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees in your head if you need to render aid to a fallen human in need of CPR this month.