Congressman Phil Roe Performs CPR, Saves Man at Airport

Republican congressman and retired doctor Phil Roe put his medical skills to the test Tuesday when he helped save a man's life at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The Tennessee congressman was reportedly drinking a cup of coffee and speaking with Rep. Mick Mulvaney when he heard someone call out for a doctor.

That's when Roe ran over to find the near-lifeless man lying on the floor.

"I couldn't feel a pulse," Roe told Reuters. "It looked like he was taking his last breaths."

Reuters reports that Roe and another woman performed CPR and took turns doing chest compressions on the stricken man. Paramedics arrived shortly after and were able to restart the man's heart with an external defibrillator before rushing him to a nearby hospital.

Roe must have felt the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders when police tracked the congressman -- who was already back in Washington -- down to share the good news that it looked like the man would make a full recovery.

Roe, who was an obstetrician for 31 years before retiring from his medical practice to go to Congress, told Reuters the incident put things into perspective for him.

"I said a little prayer for that man and his family today," he said. "It just sort of focused me again that you don't get too worked up about what's going on."