Comox Valley Search and Rescue crews jumped into action after a woman suffered cardiac arrest while hiking a mountain.

They say the woman was hiking on Mount Albert Edward with her husband when it happened Wednesday night.

Fortunately, she was in an area with cell phone reception and the pair called for help.

Crews airlifted the woman off the mountain peak and landed at the Courtenay Airpark, where she was transferred to waiting paramedics and taken to hospital.

Rescue teams in the Comox Valley have been kept busy in recent weeks, with the latest incident marking the fifth call to Strathcona in that time.

"Through September, you can have some great hiking weather and it can be busy for teams," said Comox Valley SAR spokesman Paul Berry. "A lot of people out there and not everyone overly prepared for the warm conditions, so we've had some dehydration and other medical issues. Falls, tumbles, breaks, those sorts of things."

Skies were still smoky in the park Wednesday night due to wildfires, so about 17 members of the search and rescue team were on standby at Raven's Lodge in case it was unsafe for the helicopter to land.