This Playlist Can Help Teach CPR

Learning CPR is a very simple way to save someone’s life. According to the American Heart Association, the U.S. sees more than 350,000 cardiac arrests a year outside of hospitals, and immediate CPR can make a major difference in someone's survival chances. But if you haven’t taken a course in CPR, it’s hard to know what to do in a serious emergency. Humming “Stayin’ Alive,” can help, though.

Thanks to New York Presbyterian Hospital, there’s an easy way to remember how fast chest compressions should be during CPR—a Spotify playlist. As NPR reports, the hospital has created a website to help prepare more people to assist if someone near them stops breathing, including a musical playlist that can help people keep time without counting.

During CPR, you should be pushing on the person's chest about 100 times per minute. Since songs like “Stayin’ Alive” have a tempo of 100 beats per minute, they're an effective way to keep rhythm in a high-stress situation. If you can’t stand the Bee Gees, fear not: Hanson’s “MMMBop” and Missy Elliott’s “Work It” will work just as well.

The hospital estimates that every minute that someone in cardiac arrest goes without CPR, their chance of living decreases by 10 percent, and 92 percent of people who experience cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital. So if someone’s heart stops, the worst thing you can do is nothing at all. You won’t have time to put on this playlist in the moment, but you should take a few moments to refresh your memory with the CPR Spotify playlist.

Remember, though, that tempo isn't the only necessary part of CPR. The compressions have to be not just fast, but hard—so make sure to brush up on your technique, too.