Henry Heimlich year of age, as does the National Safety Council. The 2005 choking-rescue guidelines published by the American Heart Association called the procedure "abdominal thrusts". The new guidelines stated that chest thrusts and back blows may also deal with choking effectively. In spring 2006, the American Red Cross "downgraded" the use of the Heimlich maneuver, essentially returning to the pre-1986 guidelines. For conscious victims, the new guidelines (nicknamed "the five and five"), recommend first applying five backblows; if this method fails to remove the airway obstruction, rescuers will then apply five abdominal thrusts. For unconscious victims, the new guidelines recommend chest
Henry Heimlich grandparents were Russian Jews. He graduated from New Rochelle High School (NY) in 1937 and from Cornell University (where he also served as drum major of the Cornell Big Red Marching Band) with a B.A. in 1941. At the age of 23, he received his M.D. from the Weill Cornell Medical College in 1943. At the time, the Flexner recommendations hadn't been implemented; thus, it was possible to graduate from an American medical school in two years. After medical school Heimlich served with the U.S. Navy in China during World War II, he developed an innovative treatment for victims of