Dr. Henry Heimlich, well-known for his invention Heimlich maneuver, a procedure that saved millions of lives, died at the age of 96.
Heimlich passed away on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati in Ohio. Heimlich lived in the Episcopal Retirement Services for years before his death. Bryan Reynolds, the spokesman for Episcopal said that the physician suffered severe complications from a heart attack he experienced on Monday, Dec. 12.
Heimlich Maneuver And Its History
Heimlich maneuver, which was originally called as subdiaphragmatic pressure by Heimlich was invented in 1972. The procedure which was explained by Heimlich in 1974 under the above name was renamed after him by the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association for the fact that it saved a number of lives in just two months.
Heimlich, who shared the naming secret to NPR back in 1999, noted that the name became famous enough to be added in foreign language dictionaries by 1980.
Celebrities And Heimlich Maneuver
The physician who invented the famous procedure is said to have saved an 87-year-old lady who choked a hamburger at the retirement home recently. The celebrities who used the live saving technique to save other people include Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake.
On the other hand, celebrities that became the victims of choking were also saved by the mind-blowing technique. Cher, who choked on vitamin pills at the backstage of Broadway rehearsal, was saved with the procedure in 1982. Simon Cowell who choked on mint was given a rebirth in 2014.
Ronald Reagan Given Life With Heimlich Maneuver
Interestingly, one of the famous politicians who was saved of this technique was Ronald Reagan. It is reported that if Heimlich maneuver wasn't existing Reagan wouldn't have made it as a President. In 1976, when Reagan was still a presidential candidate, he choked on peanuts while drinking coke.
When Reagan's face turned red, Mike Deaver, his campaign aide grabbed the former governor of California from behind and gave him the Heimlich maneuver. The president spit out the peanuts on the second thrust and came back to life.
Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, who became the victim of choking in Chinatown restaurant, was also saved in 1981 with Heimlich maneuver.
"Dad was firm in his convictions and passionate for his causes. He didn't play politics well. Instead, he was single-minded in his quest to find better ways to save lives. Dad dreamed that anything was possible in the field of medicine, even when critics said otherwise," shared Heimlich's family on his death, reported KTOO.
