National Heimlich Maneuver Week Celebrated April 15-21

(April 2007) – This year National Heimlich Maneuver Week is being celebrated April 15-21. The Maneuver continues to be used worldwide to save victims who are choking. Each year choking victims write to Dr. Henry Heimlich, describing their "save." Perhaps the most unusual save this past year took place in Depew, New York, when a young man rescued a woman having dinner in the restaurant where he worked, only to discover that she had saved his life with the very same maneuver, many years earlier when he'd been struck in the chest with a baseball bat.

Leading up to National Heimlich Maneuver Week, Dr. Heimlich and his wife Jane, who is herself well known in alternative medicine circles, appeared at the International College of Integrative Medicine Convention at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. One day of the convention was dedicated to the Heimlich couple for their many contributions to medicine.

Before the Heimlich Maneuver was introduced in 1974, choking was the sixth most common cause of accidental death in the United States. Since its introduction, this simple procedure has saved the lives of more than 100,000 people in the United States and thousands more worldwide. Complete instructions on use of the Heimlich Maneuver for infants, children and adults can be found a www.heimlichinstitute.org
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