Young Albion fan helps British Heart Foundation save lives
Harry Lovett, from Portslade, has been helping raise awareness of a new British Heart Foundation app which helps people learn the basics of CPR.
Harry, 15, is a big Albion fan; he and his family are season ticket holders in the East Stand.
When Harry was 7 he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing football at school. His teacher performed CPR on him for 15 minutes, ultimately saving Harry’s life.
Eight years on, Harry is helping to spread the word about CPR, and he hopes that more people across the UK will learn the life-saving skill.
According to the British Heart Foundation, nearly half of all people in the UK have never learned how to do CPR. They’ve launched an app – RevivR – to help tackle this.
RevivR teaches people how to safely and effectively do CPR, with a full training course in just 15 minutes.
Professor Rob Galloway, Medical Advisor for the club and a trustee for the BHAFC Foundation, says the public has a role to play in preventing deaths from cardiac arrest.
“We see thousands of people who die every year in this country from cardiac arrests, and there are things we can do,” he said.
“The public can do it just as well as I can, and you don’t need to have a great amount of training. CPR is really easy to do.”
Harry is acting as an ambassador for the RevivR campaign, sharing his story in the media to help spread the word. Harry, along with a number of Albion fans, was invited to the Amex Stadium to take part in a CPR training session.
Harry also received a special video message from Albion midfielder Billy Gilmour, thanking Harry for all his hard work.
Alex Lovett, Harry’s dad, is a big supporter of the campaign.
“CPR is what’s got us here today,” he said.
“It’s what allows me and Harry, and my dad, to be able to come and watch Brighton every week together. It’s just amazing.”
Estelle Stephenson, Head of Health Partnerships & Community Resuscitation at the British Heart Foundation, says that there’s a lot of work to do in order to get people in the UK CPR-ready.
“Nearly half of all UK adults still don’t know CPR. That’s more than 23 million adults in the country that still don’t know this life-saving skill,” she said.