The Heimlich maneuver, also known as a chest thrust, emerged during the 1980s as the primary first aid measure to be used for a person choking on food or a foreign object. It involves placing your arms around the victim, from the back, and delivering five upward squeeze-thrusts into the abdomen. The idea is to force air out of the person’s lungs, creating an artificial cough.

If done improperly or with too much thrust, the Heimlich maneuver can result in injury. In the 2006 guidelines of the American Red Cross/American Heart Association, the term Heimlich maneuver was replaced with the term “abdominal thrust” and the technique was downgraded for conscious victims. Guidelines now advise “five and five” -- five back blows followed by five abdominal thrusts and alternating between the two until the object is removed.

[SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Staff, “Choking: first aid,” MayoClinic.com, October 30, 2009]