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Saturday, November 25, 2006
News Still Spreads, But Not in Cincinnati
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Regular readers of The Cincinnati Beacon will think this familiar theme has grown repetitive—and they are right. But in this last week, even more media outlets have decided to report the truth about the Heimlich Maneuver. And why do we harp on this issue? Simple. A world famous Cincinnati doctor has been discredited by the American Red Cross. His maneuver has been deemed ineffective as a first response to choking. When someone needs first aid for choking, people should be informed about the best way to proceed. This is a basic matter of public safety. So why is this news everywhere besides Cincinnati?
Seven Days, an alternative web-weekly from Vermont, recently posted a piece entitled simply ”Red Cross Revises Tips for Helping Choking Victims.” Here is an excerpt:
It’s Thanksgiving Day and your family is seated around the dinner table, enjoying ample portions of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Amid the cacophony of chatter, laughter and clinking silverware, your Uncle Bob suddenly lurches to his feet, his face beet-red as he clutches his throat and gasps for air.
Someone immediately dials 9-1-1 as your Aunt Janice rushes to his aid. She clutches Bob from behind, balls up her fist in his abdomen, leans him forward slightly and gives him a few quick, upward thrusts just above the navel. Within seconds, a large chunk of white meat sails across the dinner table. A sense of collective relief spreads through the room at the disaster that was narrowly averted.
For more than three decades, the gold standard for treating a choking victim who is still conscious has been the “Heimlich maneuver” — a first-aid procedure made famous by its namesake, Ohio chest surgeon Dr. Henry Heimlich, and by countless depictions in movies and television shows. According to the Heimlich Institute of Cincinnati, the maneuver has saved tens of thousands of people.
The American Red Cross, however, recently changed its first-aid protocol to de-emphasize the use of the Heimlich for treating a conscious choking victim. According to Mike Higgins, manager of community preparedness education at the northern Vermont chapter of the American Red Cross, the new protocol recommends calling 9-1-1, then giving the person several sharp blows to the back, right between the shoulder blades, with the heel of the hand. If this doesn’t clear the obstructed airway, “abdominal thrusts” should be tried next, alternating with repeated back blows, until the person breathes freely or loses consciousness.
The American Red Cross now teaches both procedures as part of its CPR and first-aid classes, and is currently revising the informational posters, pamphlets and wallet cards it gives out to restaurants and the general public. And, in keeping with the advice of most national emergency-responder agencies, the Heimlich maneuver is no longer advised as useful or beneficial for helping a near-drowning victim.
Why the switch? According to Higgins, the Red Cross reviews its first-aid protocols every five years, and it determined recently there’s no evidence the Heimlich maneuver works better than back blows. Interestingly, the Red Cross doesn’t even call it the “Heimlich maneuver” anymore, but uses the more anatomically descriptive “abdominal thrusts.” Higgins explains that the name was changed to reflect how the procedure works physiologically.
But according to someone who’s also quite familiar with the procedure, and with Dr. Heimlich himself — his son, Peter Heimlich — the change is a result of growing questions about the maneuver’s safety and effectiveness, as well as the credentials of Dr. Heimlich himself. Bluntly put, the younger Heimlich has repeatedly accused his father of being “a fraud” and “one of history’s great medical charlatans,” while also dismissing his lifetime’s medical research as “completely bogus.” Peter Heimlich also accuses his father of stealing credit for the maneuver, which he claims was actually invented by another researcher.
Additionally, a news station out of Wausau, WI has decided to run an item on this emerging national public safety story with deep Cincinnati connections. See for yourself, or check out this excerpt:
If someone is choking, your first instinct is to give the Heimlich Maneuver.
And why not.
It’s ingrained in our minds.
The Heimlich Maneuver’s been taught for over 40 years.
But, new research shows you’re not supposed to react to a choking person that way.
Surprised?
Even Red Cross Instructors, like Laural Harder say it didn’t feel right.
“I did question it. I was a little surprised,” says Harder.
Harder says now, you’re supposed to use 5 back blows first.
For those not keeping a close eye on this story, here is how Cincinnati media talks about Peter Heimlich—who is referenced in the Vermont story quoted above. Notice that Kimball Perry avoids substance, going instead for tabloid-style shock-and-awe:
Peter Heimlich has a Web site, http://medfraud.info, dedicated to skewering his father’s medical accomplishments. He also has waged a campaign that takes aim at his brother’s political career, often contacting the news media and medical officials using pseudonyms.
“He went to a great deal of trouble to disguise his identity,” said Bob Kraft, spokesman for Hank Heimlich.
In 2001, there was a family argument, Kraft said. At that time, in a telephone conversation, Kraft said, Peter Heimlich told his father, “I am going to destroy you.”
Peter Heimlich refused to answer questions, but his attorneys said their client’s goals are pure.
“Basically, he wants the record to be straight,” Peter Heimlich attorney Lou Sirkin said.
“His motivation is not to demean his family in any way,” said Jennifer Kinsley, also a Peter Heimlich attorney.
The family considers the matter private.
“It’s a subject that gives me great pain,” Jane Heimlich said. “I hope you will understand that I would prefer not to discuss it.”
In Cincinnati, Peter Heimlich is trying to “skewer” someone’s reputation. For the rest of the country, he’s working in an attempt to educate everyone in the interests of saving lives. What an amazing discrepancy.
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26 Nov 2006 at 09:42 am | #
Hey Kimmie P.,
The person sitting next to you chokes on some of that great 5 bean soup from the little lunch/snack shop downstairs, what are you going to do? INQUIRING minds want to know?
27 Nov 2006 at 11:52 am | #
I know that alot of things go un-reported in Cincinnati but i remember hearing that the heimilch manuever was not the best thing to do when someone is choking on Channel 12 about three years ago. I know they never went in depth on the case but they did mention it. But maybe i heard it somewhere else
27 Nov 2006 at 04:02 pm | #
Dean, a reliable source who used to work at the Enquirer told me this about Bob Kraft, Dr. Heimlich’s press agent who’s quoted in the above Enquirer article by Kimball Perry.
In 2003, Robert Anglen was working on what was going to be a series of articles about Dr. Heimlich. My source says Kraft made calls around the Enquirer newsroom trying to dig up personal dirt on Anglen. Presumably Kraft’s idea was to extort Anglen into killing the stories by threatening to release embarassing personal info he might turn up.
If that’s true, what makes it all the more sickening is that Kraft used to be in the business. He was managing editor at the Post before he got shit-canned in 2001. By the way, Kimball Perry worked at the Post while Kraft was there.
Why don’t you ask Kraft and Anglen to verify or deny the story? Kraft works at Dan Pinger’s press agency here. Anglen’s now at the Arizona Republic.
27 Nov 2006 at 05:36 pm | #
The Cincinnati Beacon used to claim they broke the story. Now they have to admit Anglen broke the story in a series of articles in 2003. Not “was going to”, by the way. Did. The Kraft connection is tantalizing, but how can you credit the “tabloid-style” story of an anonymous blogger quoting an unnamed source who supposedly worked somewhere at the Enquirer once? Peter Heimlich claims “political pressure” without naming names. At least Kimball Perry puts his name to his story. Anyway, there’s little left for him to cover. While other news outlets around the country are catching up, the Enquirer broke the story 3 years ago. It’s not a cover up. It’s old news.
But what is the deal with Peter Heimlich? Will he answer these allegations?
27 Nov 2006 at 06:47 pm | #
But does K. Perry write his own stories or does he just do as he is told?
Big difference in “reporting” and “creative writing”. Or does he forget? He is old enough to know the difference. The Enquirer doesn’t hire reporters. They hire puppets. Next I expect to see the entire Larry Smith gang show up w/ Bylines.
Hello Hatty the Witch and Snarffy R. Dog.
27 Nov 2006 at 06:53 pm | #
K. Piddy, you know-nothing, Peter Heimlich worked with Anglen on a daily basis for close to a year. Anglen’s stories were all based on Peter’s research. Anglen had the plug pulled on his planned further stories by Callinan et al. Anglen then left the Enquirer and moved to the AZ Republic, another Gannett property.
28 Nov 2006 at 05:50 am | #
K. Piddy: The Cincinnati Beacon used to claim they broke the story. Now they have to admit Anglen broke the story in a series of articles in 2003.
Wrong. Anglen only broke the Heimlich-UCLA “malariotherapy” experiments story and Heimlich esophagus surgery fraud story. Then Callinan pulled the plug on any more Heimlich stories.
Gee, I wonder why?