A 63-year-old man who had a heart attack at an Ottawa curling rink Monday night is alive thanks to a quick-thinking fellow curler who applied CPR, says a paramedic who arrived a few minutes later.

"A gentleman had collapsed, was complaining of dizziness prior to him collapsing [and] went into cardiac arrest," said paramedic Roch Leduc.

"You know, I believe that ... his saving grace was early CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation] from a bystander, and quick response from the paramedics," Leduc said.

Paramedics arrived within four or five minutes after receiving the call from the RCMP Curling Club at the north end of St. Laurent Boulevard, he said.

The man was taken to a nearby hospital's emergency department before being transferred to a cardiac care centre, where he is listed in serious but stable condition.

His name was not released.