Police officers responding to a holdup alarm yesterday in Waikiki arrested a robbery suspect and may have saved a woman's life.

The officers went to Sea Wind Surf & Street Shop at 353 Royal Hawaiian Ave. at 1:24 p.m. and saw a man standing over a woman lying on the floor. The woman, 42, co-owner of the business, was unconscious and not breathing, police said.

The officers resuscitated the woman. According to police, officers twice got "flat line" pulse readings while attending to the woman, who had been choked.

She was taken to The Queen's Medical Center. Her condition is critical, but she is expected to recover, police said today.

A 33-year-old man was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and second-degree robbery. The man had a large amount of money, possibly taken from the cash register, police said.