Henry Judah Heimlich was an American thoracic surgeon and medical researcher.
14 Facts About Henry Heimlich
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Henry Heimlich is widely credited for the discovery of the Heimlich maneuver, a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking, first described in 1974.
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Henry Heimlich invented the Micro Trach portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients and the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve, or "flutter valve", which drains blood and air out of the chest cavity.
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In January 1945, as a member of the US Navy Reserve, Lieutenant Henry Heimlich was assigned to Camp Four of the Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization located at Xamba, Suiyuan Province in northern China, on the southern edge of the Gobi Desert.
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In 1962, Henry Heimlich invented the chest drainage flutter valve, and was granted a patent for the device in 1969.
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Henry Heimlich 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, Heimlich's medical assistant in China.
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On June 1,1974, Henry Heimlich first published his views about the first-aid maneuver that would bear his name in an informal article, "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary", in the magazine Emergency Medicine.
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Henry Heimlich formally described the technique in a pair of 1975 medical journal papers, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
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Henry Heimlich claimed to have used his namesake maneuver to rescue a choking victim for the first time on May 23,2016, when he was age 96, reportedly saving the life of a fellow resident of his senior living community, Patty Ris.
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Henry Heimlich stated that his initial trials with seven subjects produced positive results, but refused to provide details.
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On June 4,1951, Henry Heimlich married Jane Murray, daughter of ballroom dancing entrepreneur Arthur Murray.
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Henry Heimlich co-authored a book on homeopathy with Maesimund B Panos called Homeopathic Medicine at Home.
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Henry Heimlich was first cousin to Haskell Heimlick whose son was Anson Williams, known for his portrayal of Warren "Potsie" Weber on the 1970s hit TV show Happy Days.
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Henry Heimlich was a vegetarian and in the early 2000s was on the advisory board of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.