Heimlich maneuver

• Heimlich manoeuver, Heimlich manoeuvre

Named after American physician Henry Heimlich (1920–2016), who described the procedure in 1974.

Heimlich maneuver (plural Heimlich maneuvers)

1. (emergency medicine) A first aid procedure used to treat choking. The patient is lifted from behind, squeezing their diaphragm to expel air and thereby dislodging an obstruction in the windpipe.

   Synonym: Heimlich

   • 2025 June 14, Orlando Whitfield, “How to survive a gallery dinner (and not embarrass yourself)”, in FT Weekend, Collecting, page 10:

     There's a story I've been told several times of a dinner at London's Balthazar several years ago, at which assembled guests fell silent as Larry Gagosian […] visibly choked on his food. Within seconds, another diner had pulled Gagosian to his feet and was performing the Heimlich manoeuvre.

• abdominal-thrust maneuver