Heimlich maneuver

In the June 1974 issue of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Henry Heimlich published an article outlining a better method for aiding choking victims. The method up to that time had been sharp blows to the back - which actually pushed foreign objects further into the airway. Dr. Heimlich advocated "subdiaphragmatic pressure" to force objects out. Three months later, the method was dubbed "the Heimlich maneuver" by the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Heimlich maneuver is used when the victim's airway is totally obstructed and he/she is unable to speak, breathe, or cough the object out.