Doctors find Bee Gees hit could literally keep you Stayin' Alive

US medics have found the Bee Gees' 1977 disco anthem, Stayin' Alive, provides an ideal beat to follow when performing CPR on a victim of a cardiac arrest.

A University of Illinois medical school study said it contained 103 beats per minute, close to the recommended rate of 100 chest compressions per minute.

Dr David Matlock said many people were put off performing CPR as they were not sure about keeping the correct rhythm.

He said CPR could triple cardiac arrest survival rates when performed properly.

The study by the University of Illinois College of Medicine saw 15 doctors and students performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on mannequins while listening to Stayin' Alive. They were asked to their time chest compressions with the beat.

Five weeks later, they did the same drill without the music, but were told to think of the song while doing compressions.

The average number of compressions the first time was 109 per minute; the second time it was 113 - more than recommended by the American Heart Association, but better than too few, according to Dr Matlock.

"It drove them and motivated them to keep up the rate, which is the most important thing," he told the Associated Press.

A spokesman for the American Heart Association, Dr Vinay Nadkarni, said it had been using Stayin' Alive as a training tip for CPR instructors for about two years, although it was not aware of any previous studies that tested the song.

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