If a choking victim is too large for you to perform abdominal thrusts, what should you perform instead?

When dealing with a choking victim who is too large for you to perform abdominal thrusts effectively, the appropriate response is to perform chest thrusts. This technique is particularly useful in situations where the rescuer cannot get their arms around the victim’s abdomen due to size constraints.

Chest thrusts involve using the heel of your hand to push inwards and upwards at the center of the chest, which helps you dislodge the obstruction from the airway. The force generated by this maneuver can be very effective in creating sufficient pressure to expel the object blocking the airway.

In contrast, back blows may help in some scenarios but are generally used in conjunction with abdominal or chest thrusts for full effectiveness. The Heimlich maneuver refers to abdominal thrusts specifically, which are not suitable in this case due to the victim's size. Modified CPR is not indicated for a choking situation when the person is conscious and responsive. Therefore, chest thrusts emerge as the best alternative for effectively addressing choking in a victim whose size precludes the use of abdominal thrusts.