If You HAVE to Have a Coronary, Here is the Place to Do It!

An elderly man collapsed from cardiac arrest in a ballroom packed with cardiologists and other doctors attending an American Heart Association fundraiser.

"If you have to go down, that was the place, I guess," said Dr. Richard Westerman, a cardiologist who helped save the man.

The unidentified patient suddenly slumped over during Saturday night's seventh annual "Heart Ball," witnesses said. He had no pulse or blood pressure.

"It looked like he was a goner," said Santa Barbara City Councilman Brian Barnwell, who was among the 300 people attending the $250-a- plate event.

Several doctors sprang into action and revived the man by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Paramedics took him to a hospital.

The patient recovered, Westerman said Monday.

"He was fine," Westerman said. "He was awake. He had a pulse. He was talking."

Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart function, according to the American Heart Association. More than 95 percent of victims die before reaching a hospital, the association says.