WIKIMEDIA, MB298Henry Heimlich, the thoracic surgeon who developed an antichoking technique that has saved numerous lives, died in Cincinnati on Saturday (December 17) after suffering a heart attack. He was 96.
Heimlich invented the technique that shared his name in the 1970s, and the Heimlich maneuver eventually became a standard module of first-aid and life-saving courses. The maneuver essentially involved hugging a choking victim from behind and delivering a series of upward thrusts to their diaphragm to force air outwards, propelling obstructions from their airways. Earlier this year, Heimlich even used his maneuver to save the life of 87-year-old Patty Ris, who was choking on a hamburger at the senior residence where they both lived. “I’m proud and happy—I would've died,” Ris told CNN.
“My father was a great man who saved many lives,” Phil Heimlich, Henry’s son, told STAT News. “He will be missed not only by his family but by all of humanity.”
Though ...
