Circulation, a publication by the American Heart Association, has released new guidelines for near-drowning and choking victims.  Notable in its absence:  The Heimlich Maneuver.

Recently, Radar Magazine online published a two part series on scandals surrounding Dr. Henry Heimlich — including his assertion that the maneuver should be a first response when trying to rescue a near-drowning victim.  The story details how Dr. Heimlich’s son Peter has worked to debunk potentially dangerous theories advanced by his father.

Recently, Cincinnati Magazine’s Linda Vaccariello published a lengthy piece on this local scandal; unfortunately, her column was mostly a hack job exploring the drama between Peter Heimlich’s fallout with his father.  Such tabloid reporting does very little to address Dr. Heimlich’s medical claims.

Several months ago, I published this interview with David Wm. Livingston of the AHA.  His answers, which counter Dr. Heimlich’s claims that the maneuver should be used as a first response in near-drowning cases, foreshadow the recent information published by Circulation.

Concerning near-drowning, the AHA states quite clearly:  “Attempts to remove water from the breathing passages by any means other than suction (e.g. abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich maneuver) are unnecessary and potentially dangerous.  The routine use of abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich maneuver for drowning victims is not recommended.” Now that the AHA (which also documents their detailed research process upon which their findings are based) has repudiated the maneuver, will columnists like Sue Gerard stop publishing articles that advance the maneuver for drowning?  (You can read about Gerard’s dangerous medical advice here.)

The new AHA findings continue to debunk Dr. Heimlich:  “There is no evidence that water acts as an obstructive foreign body.  Maneuvers to relieve FBAO are not recommended for drowning victims because such maneuvers are not necessary and they can cause injury, vomiting and aspiration and delay CPR.” Noteworthy in both these phrases are references to Dr. Heimlich specifically:  he is named in the previous passage, and right above the word “maneuver” implies the Heimlich maneuver.

Heimlich is completely missing from any new text on choking:  “The clinical data on choking is largely retrospective and anecdotal. For responsive adults and children <1 year of age with severe FBAO [foreign body airway obstruction], case reports show the feasibility and effectiveness of back blows or “slaps,”239–241 abdominal thrusts,239,240,242–247 and chest thrusts.239,248 Case reports (LOE 5)242,249,250 and 1 large case series of 229 choking episodes (LOE 5)239 report that approximately 50% of the episodes of airway obstruction were not relieved by a single technique. The likelihood of success was increased when combinations of back blows or slaps, abdominal thrusts, and chest thrusts were used.”

“Heimlich maneuver” has been replaced by the more concrete description “abdominal thrust.”

So what does this mean for Cincinnati’s world famous doctor?  It looks like Peter Heimlich’s research is finally catching on, and that can’t be good for Dr. Henry.  It can help clear the water surrounding some now repudiated claims about how to save a near-drowning victim.  According to the AHA, DO NOT USE THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER!

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