Choking alone (without back blows) to assist a choking victim, is referred to as "The Heimlich Maneuver." The purpose of abdominal thrusts is to create pressure that will expel any object lodged in the airway upwards to relive the obstruction. The Heimlich Maneuver specifically excludes back blows; its inventor, Dr. Henry Heimlich, believed that back blows were likely to cause an airway obstruction to become more deeply lodged in the victim's airway. So, while abdominal thrusts are part of other choking victim protocols, the Heimlich Maneuver uses only abdominal thrusts to attempt to dislodge airway obstructions. The American Red Cross recommends
Dr. Jay Loeffler Dr. Jay Loeffler Dr. Jay Steven Loeffler (born December 27, 1955) is an American physician at Massachusetts General Hospital where he serves as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology since 2000. He is the Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Radiation Oncology and Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Loeffler attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Williams College and the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. After medical school, he trained at the former Harvard Joint Center for Radiation Therapy in Boston serving as Chief Resident. He worked in the Laboratory of Radiobiology under