Abdominal thrusts

This article may lack focus or may be about more than one topic. Please help improve this article, possibly by splitting the article and/or by introducing a disambiguation page, or discuss this issue on the talk page. (December 2023)

Abdominal thrusts
Performing the Heimlich maneuver
[edit on Wikidata]

Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver or Heimlich manoeuvre, is a first-aid procedure used to treat upper-airway obstructions (or choking) by foreign objects. American doctor Henry Heimlich is often credited for its discovery. To perform abdominal thrusts, a rescuer stands behind a choking victim and uses their hands to apply pressure to the bottom of the victim's diaphragm. This compresses the lungs and exerts pressure on the object lodged in the trachea in an effort to expel it.

Most modern protocols, including those of the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and European Resuscitation Council, recommend that treatment of airway obstructions be performed in several stages designed to apply increasing levels of pressure. Most protocols recommend encouraging the victim to cough, followed by hard back slaps, and finally abdominal thrusts or chest thrusts as a final resort. Some guidelines also recommend alternating between abdominal thrusts and back slaps.^[1][2]