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 trachoma, a previously incurable bacterial infection of the eyelids that was causing blindness throughout Asia and the Middle East. His approach – a mixture of an antibiotic ground into a base of shaving cream – proved effective, and it was used successfully on hundreds of patients. In 1962, Heimlich invented the chest drainage flutter valve (also called the Heimlich valve) and in 1969 was granted a patent for the device. He said his inspiration came from seeing a Chinese soldier die from a bullet wound to the chest during World War II, a claim that was disputed by Frederick Webster,