A TEENAGER who had a cardiac arrest in a PE lesson is fighting to make defibrillators compulsory in schools.

Sam Mangoro, 16, collapsed in March but teachers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and reached for the school’s newly installed defibrillator, saving his life and preventing brain damage.

He spent three days in an induced coma and almost three weeks in hospital.

From his hospital bed he launched the All Heart Campaign to make defibrillators compulsory in schools.

He recovered and, despite the ordeal, he passed his GCSEs with flying colours.

Sam suffered his cardiac arrest at school in Southampton but has since returned to his home town of Worthing with his three brothers and parents Mike and Lynda.

He is studying creative media at Northbrook College and has now turned his attention to Sussex schools.

Tomorrow, he will talk to Shoreham Academy sixth-form students and plans to donate a defibrillator.

Mrs Mangoro said: “We can’t even bear to think what would have happened if the school didn’t have the equipment and didn’t act as quickly as they did.

“Sam was shy before the heart attack but now he feels that telling his story is something he was meant to do.”

Even though he has lived with heart condition dilated cardiomyopathy for his whole life, Mrs Mangoro said the attack was completely unexpected.

He is now on medication and has been fitted with an internal defibrillator in case he has another arrest.

Mrs Mangoro said: “It had to work a few weeks ago and he was a bit surprised, as he was receiving a shock from inside, but it worked really well and he is OK.”

The academy’s sixth-form students wanted to buy a defibrillator as part of their charity fund. Now Sam is donating the equipment, the academy has decided to donate the money to the British Heart Foundation instead.

Kieran Felton, head of sixth form, said: “We felt Samuel’s story was an important one that should be shared with students.”

Charity Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome UK said 270 cardiac arrests occur every year in schools.

Visit Sam’s page at facebook.com/ allheartcampaign and sign the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/ 61207.