Between each chest compression, you should:

• A. remove your hands from the chest
• B. check for a pulse
• C. administer a breath
• D. allow full chest recoil

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that full chest recoil between compressions is essential for CPR effectiveness. When you push down, the chest rises back only if you release completely. That full recoil allows the heart to fill with blood and helps restore the negative pressure in the chest, which promotes blood flow back to the heart and onward to the brain and vital organs. If you don’t let the chest fully rebound, each subsequent compression is less effective because the heart can’t refill properly, reducing overall perfusion.

Keeping your hands on the chest between compressions and allowing complete recoil also minimizes interruptions in perfusion. Taking your hands off would create a pause that drops blood flow. Checking for a pulse between compressions isn’t part of the routine during CPR, since pulse checks pause compressions and interrupt the ongoing flow of blood to the brain and heart. As for breaths, CPR typically cycles compressions with breaths at a set cadence, not breath after every single compression, so breaths aren’t given between each compression.