Choking First Aid Has Changed: Back Blows Now Come First
In late October, a 1-year-old girl began choking on a chicken nugget during lunch at a Chick-fil-A in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Her mother later said she did not know what to do. The person who stepped in was a team member who had been on the job for about two months.
According to a KAIT 8 report from October 28, 2026, the girl choked for about three minutes, then went unresponsive and started to change color. Employee Danielle Sturgeon picked her up and gave abdominal thrusts, the Heimlich maneuver, using what she remembered from a video she had watched a few years earlier. The girl came around, paramedics took over, and her family is now signing up for CPR classes.
A video worked this time. It is not a plan.
The steps changed in 2025
In October 2025 the American Heart Association updated its choking guidance. For an adult or child who is choking and cannot breathe, cough or speak, the recommended response is now to alternate 5 back blows with 5 abdominal thrusts, repeating until the object comes out or the person becomes unresponsive.
For infants under 1 year old, give 5 back blows followed by 5 chest thrusts with the heel of one hand. Abdominal thrusts are not used on infants because they can cause injury.
If the person becomes unresponsive at any point, call 911 and start CPR.
If your team’s last first aid class was before the update, they most likely learned abdominal thrusts alone.
What this means for your workplace
Thanksgiving is November 26, and the season of office potlucks, client lunches and holiday parties is underway. Choking happens wherever people eat, and that includes the break room. A short hands-on refresher means the person standing closest knows the new sequence instead of trying to remember a video.
Full Code CPR teaches American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED and BLS on-site for teams across the Portland metro area. Request a group quote and we will email your pricing.
Sources: KAIT 8, “Jonesboro Chick-fil-A employee performs Heimlich maneuver on choking 1-year-old,” October 28, 2026; American Heart Association, “Updated CPR guidelines tackle choking response, opioid-related emergencies and a revised Chain of Survival,” October 22, 2025.
