- A cashier saved a customer's life by performing CPR after he had a cardiac arrest, the supermarket chain Asda said.
- She did chest compressions for 23 minutes to the beat of the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive."
- Songs with 100-120 beats per minute can be a useful guide for performing hands-only CPR.
A British supermarket worker saved a customer's life by humming a Bee Gees song for 23 minutes straight while performing CPR, Manchester Evening News reported.
Gayle Tomlinson, 38, used the beat of "Stayin' Alive" to perform the lifesaving resuscitation at an Asda store in Rossington, South Yorkshire, the supermarket chain said in a press release.
Tomlinson, who has worked at Asda for three years, rushed over to help Nigel Gronous, 54, after he collapsed by the checkout counters during a cardiac arrest, the press release said.
When Gronous stopped breathing and became unresponsive, Tomlinson called for an ambulance. The ambulance team told Tomlinson to use a defibrillator and commence CPR on the phone, Asda said.
"I'm not first aid trained, but I have picked things up, and I was taught things from my late mum, Jill, who was a nurse," Tomlinson said, according to Asda.
"We used to watch TV programs such as 999, so obviously, I'd absorbed things without really knowing. I also knew that you had to do CPR to the rhythm of 'Stayin' Alive,' and I did that in my head," she added.
She continued to perform PCR for 23 minutes until Gronous started breathing again, per the Manchester Evening News.
During hands-only CPR, the UK Resuscitation Council recommends that the chest should be compressed at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute. The Bee Gees' song has 103 beats per minute, according to the BBC, making it a useful guide for maintaining the right rhythm.
Gronous was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and was later released from the hospital.
"Gayle has given me a second chance; she saved my life. There is no thank you big enough to say to her," said Gronous, per the Asda press release. "She just jumped in and did what she had to do to save my life before the ambulance crews got there."
Stayin' Alive was the opening track to the 1978 hit movie "Saturday Night Fever," which launched John Travolta's film career. The movie's album scored four Number One hits: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," and "Night Fever," by the Bee Gees, and Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You." All four hits were written by the Bee Gees — Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb. It has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.