最近，美国的医生们新奇地发现老牌乐团比吉斯1977年发表的迪斯科舞曲《活着》可以帮助他们在帮心脏病人做心肺复苏时更好地掌握节奏。美国心脏协会要求心肺复苏时的心脏按压频率为每分钟100下，而这首舞曲每分钟的节奏为103下，二者频率相当吻合。听着这首舞曲接受心肺复苏训练的医学院学生在做心脏按压时也能很好地控制频率。

U.S. doctors have found the Bee Gees 1977 disco anthem "Stayin' Alive" provides an ideal beat to follow while performing chest compressions as part of CPR on a heart attack victim.

The American Heart Association calls for chest compressions to be given at a rate of 100 per minute in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). "Stayin' Alive" almost perfectly matches that, with 103 beats per minute.

CPR is a lifesaving technique involvingchest compressions alone or with mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. It is used in emergencies such as cardiac arrest in which a person's breathing or heartbeat has stopped.

CPR can triple survival rates, but some people are reluctant to do it in part because they are unsure about the proper rhythm for chest compressions. But research has shown many people do chest compressions too slowly during CPR.

In a small study headed by Dr. David Matlock of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, listening to "Stayin' Alive" helped 15 doctors and medical students to perform chest compressions on dummies at the proper speed.

Five weeks after practicing with the music playing, they were asked to perform CPR again on dummies by keeping the song in their minds, and again they kept up a good pace.

"The theme 'Stayin' Alive' is very appropriate for the situation," Matlock said in a telephone interview on Thursday. "Everybody's heard it at some point in their life. People know the song and can keep it in their head."

The findings will be presented this month at a meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Chicago.

Vocabulary:

cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): 心肺复苏

chest compression: 心脏按压

mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing: 口对口人工呼吸