Believe it or not, this could be a life or death question
June 28, 2006 6:37 PM   Subscribe

What are some catchy, popular songs that have a tempo of about 100 beats per minute? Why is this health-related? That's why there's...

I help teach CPR (specifically ACLS and BLS for those in the know) at the medical school where I work. The latest (2005) American Heart Association guidelines specify a rate of 100 compressions/minute when doing CPR on all patients. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to do compressions while humming to the beat of a familiar song. One good choice is "Another One Bites The Dust"; however, given the emerging practice of having family members present during resuscitation, it might be inappropriate at times. "Onward Christian Soldiers" is another song with a similar tempo that might also be inappropriate at times. So what are some other songs with this tempo that people delivering CPR can use to pace their compressions? The best answers will find their way into our training. Thanks in advance.
posted by TedW to Health & Fitness (13 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Something for everyone?
posted by giantfist at 6:41 PM on June 28, 2006 [1 favorite]


"Quit Playing Games With My Heart" seems like a particularly apt choice from that list.
posted by occhiblu at 6:46 PM on June 28, 2006


Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?
posted by Addlepated at 7:06 PM on June 28, 2006


Bobby Brown's Every Little Step I Take
posted by tastybrains at 7:10 PM on June 28, 2006


see also
posted by shoesfullofdust at 8:12 PM on June 28, 2006


Another Brick in the Wall -Pink Floyd
posted by The Deej at 9:30 PM on June 28, 2006


I could be incorrect here, but I learned as The Marine Hymn ... you know, the "Halls of Montezuma" song, with the compressions on the downbeat.

From the HAlls of MONteZUuuu-MA to the SHores of TRIpoLI...
posted by frogan at 9:37 PM on June 28, 2006


That strikes me as a lot slower than 100 compressions per minute if you're only doing compressions on the downbeat, frogan.
posted by Justinian at 11:05 PM on June 28, 2006


Maybe the version I was taught to sing is fast? Not quite two beats per second?

/me looks up CPR classes in area...
posted by frogan at 11:29 PM on June 28, 2006


Or maybe I don't know the Marine Hymn very well, which is always possible.
posted by Justinian at 11:48 PM on June 28, 2006


I'm familiar with the Marine Hymn as a march. If you sing it at that speed, and do compressions on every beat (...tó the shóres óf Trí-pó-lí...), you wind up at 100 BPM.

The same thing works with most other marches. I find The Stars and Stripes Forever, a.k.a. "Be Kind to your Web-Footed Friends," to be very natural at 100 BPM.

(FWIW, there's an "online metronome" here that may be helpful. Checking a few tracks in my collection against it, I find that "Werewolves of London" is almost exactly 100 BPM, but I'm sure there are better matches out there.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:59 AM on June 29, 2006


Response by poster: Good work, everyone. I was hoping to come up with a wide range of respones and have not been disappointed. And frogan now wanting to learn CPR is a good bonus.
posted by TedW at 5:19 AM on June 29, 2006


Nelly the elephant is not only about 100 bpm but is also 15 beats and so is perfect for CPR (at least til the new guidelines come into effect!) I use it all the time when I'm teaching kids.
posted by TwoWordReview at 5:32 AM on June 29, 2006


« Older Why don't Americans need visas to visit Mongolia   |   Concert Audio Distortion- reduce to better than... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.