Death is not common with choking but it does happen. Carrying out these procedures is very effective in clearing a total obstruction from the airway. You must first find out if the patient is breathing by asking them “are you choking?” If the patient can answer of they are coughing then allow them to try to clear the airway themselves.
If the patient cannot talk or cough then you will need to start with 5 back blows between the shoulder blades and the 5 abdominal thrusts using the thumb side of your fist just above the belly button. After every blow or thrust check to see if the item has been removed, if so stop. If it has not been cleared repeat the 5 back blows and 5 thrusts till the obstruction is cleared or patient becomes unresponsive.
If you are treating a pregnant lady or the patient is too large to do abdominal thrusts, you will need to do chest thrusts in the same way as abdominal thrusts but on the same place as CPR compressions.