Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic via Getty Images(CINCINNATI) — The surgeon from Cincinnati, Ohio, who became famous for inventing his namesake Heimlich maneuver, has died at 96 years old, according to a statement from the family of Dr. Henry Heimlich.
He died at Christ Hospital after complications from a heart attack he had earlier this week, his family said.
Dr. Heimlich’s invention has saved countless choking victims since he created the maneuver in 1974, including some famous names like former President Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher.
He said he used the Heimlich maneuver for the first time in an emergency in May at a senior care home in Cincinnati when a woman started choking during dinner. Patty Gill Ris told ABC News affiliate WCPO-TV at the time that she “would have died” if not for Heimlich, and she said he invited her to have dinner with him after saving her life.
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