At Age 96, Henry Heimlich Saves a Life With His Heimlich Maneuver
Image by Courtesy of Cornell University
By Talya Zax May 27, 2016
In his career as a chest surgeon, Henry Heimlich invented techniques and devices that have saved thousands of lives, but it’s only as a near-centenarian he’s used the most famous – the Heimlich maneuver – to save one of his own.
The 96-year-old Cincinnati resident recently performed the maneuver in his senior living center, where a fellow resident began choking on a piece of hamburger.
The episode gave the Bronx Jewish-born Heimlich a renewed appreciation for his own accomplishments. “When I used it, and she recovered quickly,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “it made me appreciate how wonderful it has been to save all those lives.”
To many, Heimlich, who also invented the Heimlich valve, an instrument for draining chest wounds, is a medical hero. In later life, however, he’s faced allegations of malpractice, many given their most prominent voice by Peter Heimlich, one of Heimlich’s four children, and controversy over his late-career work in pursuing mild inoculation with malaria as a preventative measure against AIDS.
Complicated legacy aside, one fact remains indisputable: Heimlich’s use of Heimlich means one Cincinnati resident will live to eat another hamburger. That’s a good reason for all of us to exhale.
Talya Zax is the Forward’s culture intern. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @TalyaZax
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
