She’s had 12 No 1 albums in the UK alone and been repeatedly ranked the most successful artist in the world. Now academics are suggesting some of Taylor Swift’s biggest hits could be used to help save lives.
Indeed dozens of her songs could come to the rescue of people whose hearts suddenly stop beating.
That’s the suggestion from new research by cardiologists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, which shows that at least 50 songs by the U.S. star have the perfect tempo for carrying out CPR — or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
But should you not be a Swiftie, there are dozens of other tunes with the right beat that work, from Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, to certain songs from Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Dizzee Rascal, Billie Eilish, Aretha Franklin and The Beatles.
CPR is the emergency procedure performed when somebody collapses with a cardiac arrest, where the heart stops beating suddenly. It involves immediately giving chest compressions to temporarily do the job of the heart and keep blood pumping around the body until the heart can be jump-started using a defibrillator.
Every year in the UK more than 30,000 people die as a result of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), yet prompt CPR and defibrillation can more than double someone’s chances of survival. But in order to be effective, the chest compressions need to be carried out at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute, mimicking the heart’s normal rhythm.
Counting accurately in a crisis can be difficult and studies show many — including doctors — often do it too slowly.
The song was then used in a high-profile TV campaign by the BHF, featuring footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones.
However, the Monash team wanted to see if Taylor Swift’s tunes also fitted the bill and could be used to raise awareness of CPR among younger people more familiar with her work.
An analysis of her songs found at least 50 with the right beat — including her hits Love Story and I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.
Research leader Professor Stephen Nicholls, director of the Victorian Heart Hospital in Melbourne, told the recent Swiftposium — an academic conference in Australia on the cultural impact of the star: ‘Taylor Swift’s music is some of the most popular and influential of this generation. As iconic songs lose relevance, identifying new songs with optimal beats per minute for training is crucial.’
Research shows most pop songs average around 116 beats per minute. The BHF has created a Spotify playlist — called Lifesaving Beats — of more than 90 songs, including rock, hip hop and R&B, to which music lovers can time their CPR compressions.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told the Mail: ‘The use of music to encourage the right tempo is well established and we would encourage everyone to get trained in how to deliver CPR.’
Lizzie Moscardini, who heads the BHF’s community resuscitation programme, added: ‘It’s not just the tempo that matters. It’s also important that they carry out compressions to the right depth in order to keep blood flowing.’
For advice on CPR and first aid courses, go to sja.org.uk
