Special award for Henry the teenage lifesaver

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Special award for teenage lifesaver

A teenager who saved the life of his dad who had suffered a cardiac arrest has been given a national award.

Henry, from Halifax, rang 999 and then performed CPR on his 56-year-old father Jules when he collapsed in March when they were out for run.

CPR stands for 'cardiopulmonary resuscitation' and is a way of keeping blood pumping around the body.

Henry, who learned CPR at school and also at Sea Cadets, has been honoured with a British Heart Foundation (BHF) award.

What happened?

Image source, British Heart Foundation
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Henry's life-saving actions were recognised with the BHF's virtual Heart Hero Awards

Henry said that when his dad passed out, he used his phone to call 999 and was then told to start CPR by the person who was advising him down the phone,

He also got help from a passerby who went who rushed to a nearby rugby club to retrieve a defibrillator.

Doctors said his dad Jules had suffered a cardiac arrest and the ambulance took him to hospital to look after him and help get him well again.

He said he was "just so incredibly proud" of his son.

"It's truly amazing what Henry did that day. We were out in the middle of nowhere, but Henry stayed calm and kept a level head. For someone his age to do that is incredible.

"It feels amazing to win this award," Henry said.

What is CPR?

Image source, Getty Images
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People do courses like this to learn how to do CPR

CPR stands for 'cardiopulmonary resuscitation' and is given to someone who is in cardiac arrest.

A cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body.

When the heart stops pumping blood, it means the brain stops getting oxygen. This causes someone to fall unconscious and stop breathing.

CPR

Cardio - This refers to the heart, who's function is to pump blood that is rich in oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. When the heart stops, oxygen can't reach the rest of the body.

Pulmonary - This refers to the lungs. Every time you take a breath, your lungs fill with oxygen which all our organs need to function.

Resuscitation - This means restoring life to something. So CPR is way of keeping the heart and lungs working until further help arrives.

CPR is a life saving technique that helps to pump blood around a person's body when their heart can't.

It is only given if someone is unconscious and not breathing or not breathing normally.

To carry out CPR a trained person will press up and down on a person's chest.

What is a defibrillator?

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Defibrillators are used to help people who are in cardiac arrest

When a person has a cardiac arrest a defibrillator can be used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm.

A defibrillator is a small device that is simple and safe to use. It has two pads that attach to the person who needs it and will give clear instructions on what to do.

The British Heart Foundation describes a defibrillator as "a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

"This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it's an essential part in trying to save the life of someone who's in cardiac arrest."

It will not give a shock unless it's appropriate.

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Fabrice Muamba tells Newsround more defibrillators are needed

Defibrillators are available to the public in busy locations like shopping centres, sports stadiums and train stations across the UK.

These defibrillators are known as public access defibrillators (PADs) as anyone can use them.