After performing CPR, what is often crucial to ensure?

Contacting emergency services after performing CPR is crucial because it ensures that professional medical help is on the way. Even if the victim begins to show signs of recovery, such as regaining consciousness or starting to breathe on their own, they still require further medical evaluation and treatment. Emergency responders have the necessary equipment and training to provide advanced care that cannot be given outside a medical facility.

Moreover, while monitoring the pulse is important during CPR to assess the victim's condition, it is vital to keep performing CPR until professional help arrives or the victim is responsive and breathing normally. Providing rescue breathing can be part of CPR if the rescuer is trained, but it is not always immediate based on the situation. Offering the victim water once they wake up is not advisable until they have been fully evaluated by a medical professional since they might have complications that require immediate attention. Therefore, contacting emergency services is the most critical step following CPR to guarantee ongoing care.