Senator Saves Man After Heart Attack

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., drew on his expertise as a heart surgeon Thursday and came to the rescue of a man who collapsed while visiting Congress.

The man, identified by Capitol Police as Graeme Sieber, 60, of Cleveland, Tenn., dropped to the floor from an apparent heart attack outside the office of Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

As Chafee staffer Patricia Parmer, a Girl Scout leader with cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, began working on the man, Chafee’s secretary, Donna Davis, ran down the hall to Frist’s office.

Frist “really knew what he was doing and took complete charge,” said Chafee. “And this gentleman, who was out - his heart truly had stopped to the best of their knowledge - revived because Dr. Frist responded so quickly.”

Sieber was in critical condition in the cardiac care unit of George Washington University Hospital later in the day, hospital spokesman Rich James said.

Unbeknownst to Frist, Sieber was with members of the National Association of Homes and Services for Children on their way to visit him and Tennessee’s other senator, Fred Thompson, when he was stricken, aides to Thompson said.