Henry J Heimlich, the inventor of the eponymous technique used to save victims of choking, has died aged 96.
The ‘Heimlich manoeuvre’ – whereby a choking person is given a bear hug combined with abdominal thrusts – is estimated to have saved 100,000 lives and has been taught in schools and endorsed by medical authorities the world over since its inception in 1974.
The Jewish thoracic surgeon, who died in a hospital in Cincinnati on Saturday after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week, used his own technique in an emergency situation for the first time earlier this year.
On May 23, Dr Heimlich applied his manoeuvre to an 87-year-old woman choking on a piece of meat at Deupree House, their care home in Cincinnati.
