Heimlich maneuver
Maniobra de Heimlich
- Date
- 1974 · confidence high
- Place
- Cincinnati, United States
- Credited to
- Henry Heimlich
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich describes a sharp upward abdominal thrust to expel an object obstructing the airway, an alternative to back blows for treating choking.
Heimlich published the technique in 1974 in 'Emergency Medicine' and formalised it in JAMA and Annals of Thoracic Surgery in 1975; its later extension to drowning and asthma proved controversial and lacked solid scientific backing.
What it led to
- Adoption as the standard first-aid technique for choking
- Mass training in basic resuscitation
- Medical debate over back blows versus abdominal thrusts