“Restaurant death”, Dr. Heimlich and his life-saving technique (7 photos)

The human body is a balanced system. But not the most reliable: it can fail at any time.





For example, a man was sitting in a restaurant, enjoying good company, small talk and delicious food. Laughed, took an awkward breath or drank water. And that's it: the piece went down the wrong throat, as they say. Several minutes of excruciating lack of air. And the end.



The solution was found by Dr. Henry Judah Heimlich (1920-2016), who went down in history as the inventor of the method of subdiaphragmatic thrusts in case a foreign object gets into the patient’s throat (the so-called Heimlich maneuver). Although this is not his only achievement. The doctor's expertise includes a method for bypassing the esophagus, a valve to prevent pneumothorax in cases of penetrating wounds of the sternum, and an intratracheal catheter for oxygen therapy. But it was the method of preventing “restaurant death” that brought Henry fame. And saved thousands of people around the world.

Henry was no stranger to death. During World War II, the guy served as a Marine. And he firmly decided that upon his return he would devote his life to medicine and saving lives.



The author demonstrates his technique

Actually, the technique is simple. If a person chokes and begins to cough and choke, you need to approach from behind, sit down a little and wrap your arms around the victim. Place one fist above the navel, the second from above and with a sharp push inward and upward, press on the stomach. The foreign object should slide out of the respiratory tract like a plug.

Henry described the technique in a 1974 medical journal article. But he did it very carefully, using as an example dogs - beagles, who choked on large pieces of meat. Carefully clarifying at the end that if the technique is effective in the case of our smaller brothers, then it can also be used to save people.



Henry Judah Heimlich

Actually, the reinsurer can be understood. After all, any innovation that has not yet been tested in practice is a risk. However, society very soon had the opportunity to use the solution in practice. That same year, a story appeared in the press about how a former restaurateur saved his girlfriend using doctor’s recommendations.

Until the beginning of our century, the author rested on his laurels. Then a medical scandal happened: in 2003, a certain Edward Patrick emerged - a colleague who helped Henry in the 70s and wanted his name to also be reflected in the life-saving technique.



Dr. Henry Heimlich

He was unexpectedly supported by Heimlich’s son, who stated that his father’s disdainful attitude towards colleagues and subordinates had always existed. As a result, they did not rename the technique, but assigned it simply another abstract name - abdominal thrusts.



Mannequin simulator for practicing the technique

The author himself, who lived a very long life, had the opportunity to put his own development into practice literally shortly before leaving for a better world. Henry, 96, saved his nursing home neighbor Patty Rees when the elderly woman choked on her lunch. An employee of the establishment who ran up was so moved by the action that he did not interfere and allowed the moment of salvation to take place and remain in history.