Do you know how to save a life?

Would you know what to do if you saw someone choking?

According to the American Red Cross, if you are the only rescuer on the scene, perform abdominal thrusts before calling 911. If another person is available, have them call while you do the Heimlich.

We stopped by fire station 31 on the west side of El Paso to get step-by-step instructions.

“You’re gonna find their belly button, place you hand two inches above, and thrust upwards until the object is dislodged. They should be able to speak. If they go unconscious and it doesn’t get dislodged, then lay them on the floor and start CPR,” say firefighters.

At that point, if you’re the sole rescuer, call 911.

Captain Wayne Jones with the El Paso Fire Department says above all, don’t panic.

“The Heimlich maneuver is actually a very simple technique that can make a difference in saving someone’s life before we arrive. Sometimes it takes us three to five minutes to get on the scene, and if someone were to step up and perform the Heimlich maneuver it can really make a difference and get that object dislodged prior to our arrival.”

Good Samaritans save lives every day. Knowing how to react in an emergency situation is just a phone call or keystroke away.

Approximately 4,000 adults die from choking every year in the US, according to the website cprcertified.com. The good news is that you don’t have to be a medical professional to help save a choking victim, in fact, 70-80% of choking victims recover thanks to the Heimlich maneuver.

Again, to administer the Heimlich maneuver, stand behind the choking victim, make a fist and place the thumb side against the person’ supper abdomen, above the navel and below the ribcage. Next, put your other hand around the fist, and use a quick upward thrust to press into the victim’s abdomen. Repeat as necessary until the object is expelled.

You can also perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself. Place the thumb side of your fist above your navel and below your ribcage. Wrap your other hand around it and thrust upward repeatedly. You can also bend over a chair, table or counter at waist height for added strength. If a person is overweight or pregnant, put your first a bit higher, where the ribs join.

The American Red Cross, an education provider for procedures like CPR, never replaced its official anti-choking recommendation of back blows with the Heimlich Maneuver. The Red Cross recommends people to do five back blows on choking victims. If that doesn’t work, then it recommends people perform the Heimlich if the back blows didn’t work.

For a link to the American Red Cross class registrations, click here. http://www.redcross.org

For more information on CPR/AED training in El Paso, visit https://squareup.com

Be sure to join us every day this week for Good Morning El Paso as we cover more life-saving skills, like how to stop bleeding, perform hands-only CPR, use a defibrilator, and more.