If signs of life become visible you should check for a pulse. If the victim has no pulse, CPR should be continued. If the victim has a pulse, CPR should be ceased but you must continue to monitor the victim's vital signs.
Check for signs of life about every 2 minutes.
For lay (community) CPR, there is no circulation check at all for an Adult. If no breathing, and after 2 breaths, go directly to CPR for an Adult. Do not stop CPR to check for circulation. For a Child, check circulation at carotid artery. For an Infant, check the brachial artery.
The radial pulse is checked for vital signs.
You should check for a pulse on an elderly victim if they are unresponsive and not breathing. It is important to do so in order to assess their condition and provide appropriate care, such as CPR, if necessary.
Reassessment in CPR is to check again to see if signs of life are present.
Before starting CPR you should (for no longer than 10 seconds) look for signs of life, especially a pulse and breathing. Lack of a pulse is indication that you should start CPR, presence of a pulse but lack of breathing is indication that you should begin rescue breathing.
You should use CPR if a person is not breathing (place your ear nearly to their nose/mouth, and look, listen, feel for warmth) and has no pulse (using you pointer finger, feel along the side of the neck for a carotid pulse).
The signs/symptoms are in the question itself... the person is apneic and has no pulse.
It used to be that after every 2 minutes of CPR, you did a pulse check. Now, once it is confirmed there are no signs of life, CPR is not stopped until EMS arrives and takes over. When EMS arrives, they will do a pulse check (which includes a breathing check) and if no pulse the AED will be hooked up. Since for the lay rescuer the rescue breathing (RB) for adults has been eliminated, there is no check required as CPR is immediately started. For children and infants, where RB is performed, after every 2 minutes you do a pulse check.
Check for signs of life (breathing, pulse). If no signs of life, continue CPR.
pulse