Since the technique was introduced in 1974 it is believed to have saved the lives of more than 100,000 people in the US alone.
They include former President Ronald Reagan, pop star Cher, former New York mayor Edward Koch, external and Hollywood actors Elizabeth Taylor, Goldie Hawn, Walter Matthau, Carrie Fisher, Jack Lemmon and Marlene Dietrich.
In 2014 actor Clint Eastwood was credited with saving the life of a golf tournament director in California who was choking on a piece of cheese.
In the UK, celebrity promoter Simon Cowell was reportedly saved by comedian David Walliams, who carried out the Heimlich manoeuvre on him after a mint became stuck in his throat.