Henry Heimlich Heimlich's medical assistant in China. The design of the valve allows air and blood to drain from the chest cavity in order to allow a collapsed lung to re-expand. The invention was credited with saving the lives of hundreds of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. Heimlich first published his views about the maneuver in a June 1974 informal article in "Emergency Medicine" entitled, "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary". On June 19, 1974, the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" reported that retired restaurant-owner Isaac Piha used the procedure to rescue a choking victim, Irene Bogachus, in Bellevue, Washington. From 1976 to 1985, the
Henry Heimlich "wide-ranging, unseen 50-year history of fraud" and has called his father, "a spectacular con man and serial liar" and has claimed "The only thing my father ever invented was his own mythology."; Janet Heimlich, a freelance reporter; and Elisabeth Heimlich. Heimlich was the uncle of Anson Williams, who is known for his portrayal of Warren "Potsie" Weber on the 1970s hit TV show "Happy Days". Heimlich's memoir, "Heimlich's Maneuvers: My Seventy Years Of Lifesaving Innovation", was published in 2014 by Prometheus Books. A statement from his family said Heimlich died at The Christ Hospital on December 17, 2016, after complications