The 1990s dance hit that’s a life-saver for heart patients

ITS catchy beat and dance routine are probably etched in your memory.

And scientists have now said that the 1990s hit La Macarena could help you save a life – because the tempo helps people perform CPR more effectively.

They said that timing chest compressions to the dance track trebled the pace of compressions performed in a study.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, involves pumping a person’s chest to help blood circulate after they have a cardiac arrest and lose consciousness.

If blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs, a person can die within minutes.

The researchers wanted to test using a beat alongside CPR because the quality of compressions can significantly increase chances of survival.

Scientists from the University of Barcelona, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, and Autonomous University of Barcelona compared the effectiveness of a metronome app, mentally reciting La Macarena, and no beat at all.

A group of 164 medical students from the University of Barcelona split into three groups according to each method and performed compressions on a manikin for two minutes.

The metronome proved the most effective aid, prompting compressions at 103 beats per minute, with 91 per cent of compressions within the target range of 100-120 beats per minute. This was followed by the Macarena group with 74 per cent, compared to just 24 per cent with no aid.

However, no group achieved the required compression depth of 5cm, according to the findings presented at the Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen.

Professor Enrique Carrero Cardenal said: ‘Both the app and using mental memory aid La Macarena improved the quality of chest compressions by increasing the proportion of adequate rate but not the depth of compressions.’

The study follows a British Heart Foundation campaign in 2012 suggesting people perform CPR to the Bee Gees hit Stayin’ Alive.