Heimlich Maneuver Health Article

Definition

The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency technique for removing a foreign object lodged in the airway that is preventing a child or an adult from breathing.

Purpose

The Heimlich maneuver is used when a person is choking on a foreign object to the extent that he/she cannot breathe. Oxygen deprivation from a foreign body airway obstruction can result in permanent brain damage or death in four minutes or less. Using the Heimlich maneuver can save a choking victim's life. The Heimlich maneuver is not performed on infants under one year of age (see below for technique for infants). Indications that a choking victim's airway is blocked include the following:

• inability to cough, cry, or speak
• blue or purple face color from lack of oxygen
• grabbing at throat
• weak cough and labored breathing that produces a high-pitched noise
• all of the above, followed by loss of consciousness

Each year, more than 17,000 infants and children are treated in hospital emergency departments for choking-related incidents, and more than 80 percent of these occur in children aged four years and younger. Airway obstruction death and injury are especially prevalent in children under age four due to their anatomy (small airway), natural curiosity and tendency to put objects in their mouths, and incomplete chewing. In infants, choking usually results from inhalation of small objects (e.g., coins, small toys, deflated balloons, buttons) that they place in their mouth.

Description

In 1974, Henry Heimlich first described an emergency technique for expelling foreign material blocking the trachea. This technique, now called the Heimlich maneuver, is simple enough that it can be performed immediately by anyone trained in the maneuver. The Heimlich maneuver is a standard part of all first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses.

The theory behind the Heimlich maneuver is that by compressing the abdomen below the level of the diaphragm with quick abdominal thrusts, an "artificial cough" is created. Air is forced out of the lungs to dislodge the obstruction in the trachea and bring the foreign object back up into the mouth.

The Heimlich maneuver can be performed on all people; however, modifications are necessary infants, children, obese individuals, and pregnant women.