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Professor's report helps Heimlich ManeuverDro wnin g is the leading cause of

accidental death in children one tofour years old in eighteen U.S.states and is third for all ages. TheAmerican Academy of Pediatr icsreports that most of thesedrownings take place in residentialswimm ing pools , whe re the f irstperson on the scene is a parent orneighbor.

In the vast majority of thesecases, the first person on the sceneis not t rained in Cardio-PulmonaryResusci tat ion (CPR), and does notknow what to do. These people areoften confused about whether toper form mouth- to -mouth , pumpthe chest , or perform the HeimlichManeuver, and as to which order toperform each technique.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, inventor ofthe Heimlich Maneuver anddirector of the Heimlich Institute in

Cincinnat t i , has pleaded for yearsthat the Heimlich Maneuver ber e c o m m e n d e d a s the thing to do ininstances of drowning. Heimlichhas asserted that his maneuverclears the lungs of water, a vitalaspect of resuscitation.

Earlier this year, JohnHunsucker, a professor of industrialengineering at the col lege, conducted a s tudy that val idated thevalue of using the HeimlichManeuver first in drowning cases.

Hunsucker became involved afterthe National Pool and Water ParksAssociat ion (NPWPA), and theHeimlich Inst i tute joint ly requestedan object ive independent s tudy ofthe facts . Hunsucker col lected andstudied information from both sidesand conducted his own tests with167 lifeguards.

Hunsucker found that the

Heiml ich Maneuver de layedbreathing four to six seconds, butwas invaluable in removing waterfrom the lungs before initiatingCPR. In fact, Hunsucker found thatmany t imes, the Heimlich was sosuccessful it supe rsede d th enecessity for CPR.

mouth-to-mouth actual ly wastest ime and delays oxygenation.

"M outh -to-m outh is ineffectivoxygenating the drowning vict imwithout drainage," Heimlich say

In the process of his study,Hunsucker found that the HeimManeuver was very difficult to

Industrial Engineering professorJohn Hunsucker (1), recently completed a study that establrevival technique developed byDr. Henry Heimlich (r) as the primary method for resuscitadrowning victims. Hunsucker also developed a method for using the Heimlich in deep w

'The t ime issue proposed aclassical industrial engineeringquest ion," Hunsucker says. "Howwould four to six seconds affect theentire process? I found those four tosix seconds to be insignificant whenweighed against the benefit of theHeimlich."

Those four to six seconds aredeceiving, says Heimlich, because

perform in cases where lifeguardwere im mobil ized in deep watera resul t , he developed a techniqfor applying the Heimlich Manever in those situations.

"If the Heimlich was going to introduced as a part of lifeguardtraining, we needed to find a wathat would allow lifeguards to usthe technique in those cases wh

P A R A M E T E R S

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ain acceptance as drowning treatmentthey could not reach s table groundin a shor t amount of time,"Hunsucker says.

Hunsucker 's technique al lowslifeguards to use a flotation deviceto gain mobilization before usingthe Heimlich. The device iswedged be tween the lifeguard'ss tomach and the victim's back, withthe lifeguard securing the two byclasping his /her arm aro undthevict im. The Heiml ich is thenadminis tered in the r e c o m m e n d e dfashion (see illustration below).

D u e to Hunsucker's study, theHeimlich Maneuver has beenwidely endorsed by the medicalcommuni ty, as well as manylifeguard training organizations.

"Dr. Hunsucker's definitive studyestablishes the Heiml ich Maneuver

as the primary t reatment fordrowning," Heimlich says. "Whenpeople are made aware that theManeuver is the recommended f i rs tt r ea tment for saving drowningvict ims, we can save 1,000 lives thisyea r and all subsequent years ,most ly chi ldren, who wouldotherwise not survive."

This summer, Hunsucker 's s tudywas validated by the N P W PA . In 17

drowning incidents reportedbyNPWPA-trained l i feguards,24vict ims responded by brea th ingfrom the Heimlich procedurealone, and only three requiredCPRafter the Heimlich was administered. All 17 lived.

"We would have lost probablyhalf of those people had theHeimlich not been adminis tered,"

Hunsucker says.A side benefit of Hunsucker 's

study is tha t the simplicity of theHeimlich will allow peoplewho arenot certified as lifeguards to assistdrowning vict ims.

' T h e r e is not always a lifeguardaround during drowning cr isesbutthere are 250 million Americans nott ra ined in CPR who know how toperform the Heimlich Maneuver, orw h o can learn it in a minute's time,"Heimlich says.

"Actions taken by first persons onthe scene often make the differencebetween full recovery, death,orpermanent debi l i ta t ion in submersion accidents."

For more information onthe Heimlich Maneuver,

contact the Heimlich Institutea t 5 1 3 / 2 2 1 - 0 0 0 2 .

Applying the Heimlich Maneuver to drowning victims

Victim lying on ground1 . Place victim on back. Turn

face to one side to allow water

to drain from mouth.

2. Facing victim, kneel astridevictim's hips.

3. With one of your hands on

top of the other, place the heel

of your bottom hand on the

abdomen below the rib cage

and navel.

4. Use your body weight to

press into the victim's

abdomen with a quick

upward thrust.

5. Repeat until water no

longer flows from mouth.

Standing in a pool or shallow water1 . Stand behind the victim and wrap your arms

around victim's waist.

2. Make a fist and place the thumb side of your

fist against the victim's abdomen,

below the rib cage and above

the navel.

3. Grasp your fist with your

other hand and press into the

victim's abdomen with a quick

upward thrust.

l ^ ' Re peat until water no longer flows

\ I from mouth.

// the victim has not recovered, proceed with CPR. Thevictim should see a physician immediately after rescue.

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