A Greek athlete saved a woman who was choking on her food at a taverna in Chania, Crete on Christmas Eve.
The dramatic video captured on CCTV shows a group of three women and their children enjoying their meal. Suddenly, one of the women lost consciousness.
Her friends rushed to help and tried different maneuvers but to no avail.
As the seconds were ticking with people growing more and more anxious, a man who appeared from a nearby table rushed to help.
According to the local media outlet, Flashnews, the savior was a local athlete, Kostas Varouhakis, who calmly used the Heimlich grip on the woman.
She is seen recovering as her children fall in relief in her arms.
The Heimlich grip, or the Heimlich maneuver, 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 creation.
Performing abdominal thrusts involves a rescuer standing behind a patient and using their hands to exert pressure on the bottom of the diaphragm. This compresses the lungs and exerts pressure on any object lodged in the trachea, hopefully expelling it.
Choking on food incident occurred in 2019 again in Chania, Crete
In 2019, a similar incident also occurred in Chania, Crete and became viral when a Greek restaurateur performed the Heimlich maneuver on a British tourist who was choking.
Vasilis Patelakis was seen applying the maneuver, instantly dislodging the food from the man’s windpipe.
In 2021, he was honored with the 112 Awards, an annual ceremony that seeks to recognize heroic actions by individuals who have saved lives.
The 112 Awards also highlighted the fact that the Greek restaurateur used the experience to inspire others by posting a video of the occurrence online in order to spread awareness about how important knowledge of first aid can be.
Most modern protocols for helping victims from choking, including those of the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and the European Resuscitation Council, recommend several stages for airway obstructions, designed to apply increasingly more pressure.
Most protocols recommend encouraging the victim to cough, followed by hard back slaps, and finally, abdominal thrusts or chest thrusts as a last resort.
Some guidelines also recommend alternating between abdominal thrusts and back slaps.
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