Man collapses from a heart attack in front of a heart doctor at beach

Lance Schellpepper was heading back to his car August 12 after a fishing trip at Florida's Jackson Beach when he stopped to pet Jennifer Card's dog, Evie.

A chance encounter turned lifesaving when Schellpepper suddenly collapsed.

A physician assistant in vascular surgery, Card called 911 and administered CPR until first responders arrived on the scene. Schellpepper had no pulse, Card told First Coast News.

Schellpepper had suffered a heart attack and was taken to Baptist Medical Center Beaches. He received a heart catheterization, a minimally invasive procedure used to assess heart function, according to the Cleveland Clinic. A doctor performed open-heart surgery on Schellpepper the following day.

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Schellpepper's heart attack caused him to go into cardiac arrest. The quick administration of CPR was crucial to his survival. According to research, CPR administered within two minutes of collapse greatly increases the odds of survival. Quick intervention also boosts the likelihood that the survivor will not suffer severe brain damage, according to the American Heart Association.

An estimated 350,000 cardiac arrests occur yearly outside of the hospital with a less than 10% survival rate, according to the American Heart Association. Schellpepper credits Card with saving his life that day.

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"I've got an angel in heaven, my wife, and I got an angel on earth, that's her," Schellpepper told First Coast News.

The next six days were spent recovering in the hospital from both surgery and a broken nose he sustained when he collapsed.