Subject: inquiry re: 9/14/15 Jane Brody article

From: Peter Heimlich <peter.heimlich@gmail.com>

Date: 9/21/2015 12:25 PM
To: public@nytimes.com
CC: tpp@nytimes.com
Dear Ms. Sullivan,
Re: Jane Brody's September 14, 2015 article, What Comes After the Heimlich Maneuver, I e-mailed an inquiry to
Ms. Brody the date her article was published. I didn't receive a reply, so on September 17 I e-mailed her a
courtesy follow-up. (I copied you and editor Tara Parker-Pope on both e-mails; please see below my signature.)
I never received a reply, so I'd appreciate it if you'd review the following, ask Ms. Brody a few quick questions on
my behalf, and get back to me with her response.
Via her article:
Happy stories are often told about the thousands of people each year who are saved by the Heimlich
maneuver...
What people rarely hear about are the many instances in which the Heimlich fails to dislodge an object
that obstructs a persons breathing...
Knowing what to do, both initially and if the Heimlich fails to dislodge a tracheal obstruction, can be
lifesaving...
Kim Putman owes her life to a quick-thinking hostess in a small New York restaurant who immediately
called 911 after Ms. Putman choked on a piece of steak five years ago. Her partner, who is a dentist, as
well as a friend who was with them, a busboy and even a doctor from a nearby table tried the Heimlich to
no avail.
I was about to try it on myself by leaning over a bar stool when I passed out, Ms. Putman recalled in an
interview. I awoke to find E.M.T.s there who had put my head back and begun CPR. When they started
chest compressions, the piece of steak popped out and I could breathe again...
When all attempts to rescue a choking victim fail and emergency medical help is unavailable, there is a
treatment of last resort: a cricothyrotomy, which is easier and quicker to perform than a tracheotomy.
With the victim lying flat, tip the head back and locate the bulge of the Adams apple. Using a sharp
knife, make a half-inch horizontal cut a half-inch deep between the Adams apple and the bulge an inch
below it, the cricoid cartilage. Insert something like a straw or casing of a ballpoint pen (first remove the
ink cartridge) and breathe into it. In case someones life depends on your ability to do this, review an
illustrated description of the procedure at www.tracheostomy.com/resources/surgery/emergency.htm
Via Choking 101, a January 22, 2013 post on the American Red Cross's blog by Richard N. Bradley MD FACEP,
associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston:
American Red Cross 2005 Guidelines for Emergency Care and Education recommend using cycles of 5
back blows and 5 abdominal thrusts [the Heimlich maneuver] to treat conscious, choking children and
adults. A review of the scientific literature suggested that back blows, abdominal thrusts and chest
compressions are equally effective. Additionally, the use of more than one method can be more effective
to dislodge an object. These findings are consistent with those of international resuscitation societies.
The Red Cross certainly isnt discounting the use of abdominal thrusts. But we include back blows,
abdominal thrusts and chest compressions in our training because there is no clear scientific evidence to
say that one technique is more effective than the others when treating a choking victim.
Via the current (2010) guidelines of the American Heart Association (AHA):
Although chest thrusts, back slaps, and abdominal thrusts are feasible and effective for relieving severe
(Foreign Body Airway Obstruction) in conscious (responsive) adults and children 1 year of age, for
simplicity in training it is recommended that abdominal thrusts be applied in rapid sequence until the
obstruction is relieved. If abdominal thrusts are not effective, the rescuer may consider chest thrusts.
Based on the ARC and AHA guidelines, it's unclear why Ms. Brody recommended cutting a hole in a choking
victim's throat before attempting back blows and/or chest thrusts.

Ms. Brody also wrote:

What may have helped (choking victim Kim) Putman was a slight relaxation of the muscles of the trachea
as a result of oxygen deprivation, which may allow the food to dislodge. That is reason enough for
potential rescuers to try the Heimlich again even after a choking victim is unconscious.
However, according to Heimlich maneuver on unconscious persons causes controversy by Nick Kammerer,
Rambler Newspapers (Irving, TX), November 24, 2014:
(The) American Heart Association and the American Red Cross, do not recommend using the Heimlich
maneuver on unconscious patients...
Here are the questions I'd like you to ask Ms. Brody.
1) In the course of researching/writing her article, was she aware of the choking rescue recommendations
published by the American Red Cross and/or the American Heart Association? If so, why did she fail to report
the information?
2) Can she provide citations to any published research regarding the use of the Heimlich maneuver to revive
unconscious choking victims?
3) Would she please provide the names of any medical organizations which recommend that non-medical
professionals learn to perform a cricothyrotomy on choking victims?
Thank for your time/consideration and I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Peter M. Heimlich
Atlanta
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com
cc: Tara Parker-Pope

On 9/17/2015 11:38 AM, Peter Heimlich wrote to inquiries@janebrody.net and copied public@nytimes.com;
tpp@nytimes.com
Dear Ms. Brody: What's the status of my September 14 inquiry, please? PMH
On 9/14/2015 2:19 PM, Peter Heimlich wrote to inquiries@janebrody.net and copied public@nytimes.com;
tpp@nytimes.com
Dear Ms. Brody,
I'd appreciate your answer to a quick question for an item I'm reporting for my blog about your piece published
today, What Comes After the Heimlich Maneuver: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/what-comesafter-the-heimlich-maneuver/
In the course of researching/writing your piece, did you contact the American Red Cross, the American Heart
Association, or any other first aid organizations and/or did you review the recommendations for how to respond
to a choking emergency published by those or any other organizations? If so, which ones?
Thanks for your time/consideration and I look forward to your reply. If you can get back to me by the end of this
week, that would be great -- if you need more time, please advise and I'll do my best to accommodate.
Sincerely,
Peter M. Heimlich
Atlanta
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com
cc: Tara Parker-Pope, Margaret Sullivan