A 64-year-old female has just collapsed in cardiac arrest. You are alone. After your initial assessment, you should give two ventilations, then _____.

While there is limited information that people in extended periods of cardiac arrest may benefit from CPR before defibrillation, overwhelming information indicates that defibrillating very early in a “fresh” arrest situation will provide the best opportunity for correcting the most common cause of cardiac arrest—ventricular fibrillation.