A 53-year-old man is lucky to be alive after he suffered a cardiac arrest at a northern Illawarra beach on Sunday.
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After a half-hour ocean swim at Scarborough, the man was stretching on the water's edge about 10am when he suddenly collapsed.
Surf lifesavers from Scarborough/Wombarra, with the help of an off-duty doctor, nurse and other members of the public, commenced CPR, using a defibrillator on the unconscious patient six times.
NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived and continued using the defibrillator, before he was flown to St Georges Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
NSW Ambulance inspector Norm Rees said the man underwent bypass surgery in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
"The surf life saving club did an absolutely incredible job and it was the community defibrillator machines that made all the difference here," Mr Rees said.
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