Those who live long enough can readily acknowledge they’ve seen – in some form – almost everything come back around again. Fashion, hair styles, entertainment, design, architecture, virtually every pop culture trend, all tend to “recycle” something from the past…hence, the idea that “everything old is new again!”

We rediscover that select ideas still have some life left in them, and adapt them to align with more current conditions and advances. This decidedly is the case in the healthcare arena. At one point, the concept of actually “interacting” with patients fell out-of-fashion, in favor of more “clinical” approaches. However, as we lived and learned, we took the best parts of each “trend” to refine healthcare processes.

The same holds true for the evolution of procedures – whether high-tech surgical OR a simple lifesaving technique anyone can perform. And THIS brings us back around to where we began, where we consider how a major disco hit from the 70s can be “upcycled” to save lives a half-century later!

For over a decade, medical specialists have researched the idea of how to make CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) more accessible and easier for individuals to perform. And they discovered a classic tune by the BeeGees – taken from “Saturday Night Fever” – could open new avenues in CPR training. Ironically enough, that song is “Stayin’ Alive!” No kidding…it’s even been documented:

“The American Heart Association (AHA) has two simple tips for anyone around you that goes into cardiac arrest. Call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the classic disco song ‘Stayin’ Alive.’

“…CPR can more than double a person’s chances of survival, and ‘Stayin’ Alive’ has the right beat for Hands-Only CPR. The 1977 Bee Gees’ song has the perfect beat for performing CPR because the song contains 103 beats per minute…close to the recommended chest compressions of 100 beats every 60 seconds.

“The campaign introduced by the AHA has created a series of videos available on YouTube to help spread the word. Ken Jeong, an actor, comedian and also licensed physician in California, stars in one of the promotional videos and urges people to pay attention.”

Obviously, more thorough training will allow individuals to go beyond the Hands-Only CPR skills and AHA and American Red Cross certified trainings can include proper use of AEDs and other techniques designed to help victims keep “Stayin’ Alive” until professional assistance arrives!