Heimlich maneuver

Heimlich maneuver
/huym"lik/
an emergency rescue procedure for application to someone choking on a foreign object, in which the rescuer places a fist between the victim's lower ribs or upper abdomen from behind and exerts sudden pressure in the form of thrusts of sufficient force to help eject the object from the windpipe.
[1970-75, Amer.; after H. J. Heimlich (born 1920), U.S. physician who devised it]

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Emergency procedure for dislodging a foreign body from a choking victim's throat, devised by the U.S. surgeon Henry J. Heimlich.

It is used only when the airway is totally obstructed, as shown by inability to speak or breathe. The rescuer reaches around the victim from behind, grasps one fist in the other just below the victim's rib cage, and makes several upward thrusts into the victim's belly. This expels the foreign object with air from the victim's own lungs. An unconscious victim is laid faceup and the thrusts are given by a kneeling or squatting rescuer.

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▪ emergency procedure
      emergency procedure that is used to dislodge foreign bodies from the throats of choking victims. In the early 1970s, the American surgeon Henry J. Heimlich observed that food and other objects causing choking were not freed by the recommended technique of delivering sharp blows to the back. As an alternative, he devised a method of using air expelled from the victim's lungs to propel the object up and out of the throat. The Heimlich maneuver is used only when the victim's airway is totally obstructed and he is rendered unable to speak, breathe, or to cough the object out; with only partial blockage of the throat, the victim can generally work the object free by his own efforts.

      In performing the maneuver, the rescuer stands behind the choking victim and wraps his arms around his upper abdomen, joining his two hands just below the rib cage and pressing his balled left hand into the victim's belly. Grasping one fist in the other, the rescuer then makes four sharp upward squeezes or thrusts into the victim's abdomen, thus forcing out of his lungs the air that will expel the foreign object from the throat. An unconscious victim is laid on his back and the thrusts administered from above. The abdominal thrusts are repeated until the foreign object is expelled.

      Because the traditional Heimlich maneuver is not safe to use on infants (infancy) or children under one year of age, a special infant technique has been developed. In this procedure, which is suitable only for use on conscious, choking infants, the infant is placed face down on an adult's forearm, with the infant's head supported and held lower than its body. Four forceful blows are delivered to the infant's back between the shoulder blades. If the foreign object is not expelled, the infant is turned over and supported on the adult's thigh. The adult, using only the middle and ring fingers, then gives five quick downward thrusts on the infant's breastbone. If the object appears in the infant's mouth, it can be safely removed. If it does not appear or cannot be removed with a gentle finger sweep through the mouth, the process is repeated.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Heimlich maneuver — 1975, named for U.S. physician Henry Jay Heimlich (b. 1920) …   Etymology dictionary

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  • Heimlich maneuver — An emergency treatment for obstruction of the airway in adults. It may be needed when someone chokes on a piece of food that has gone down the wrong way. To perform the Heimlich maneuver, stand behind the victim, wrap your arms around their waist …   Medical dictionary

  • Heimlich maneuver — noun Etymology: Henry J. Heimlich b1920 American surgeon Date: 1974 the manual application of sudden upward pressure on the upper abdomen of a choking victim to force a foreign object from the trachea …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Heimlich maneuver — upward thrust on abdomen, performed on choking victims (developed by Dr Henry Heimlich) …   Inventors, Inventions

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