What is Cheyne-Stokes respiration?

• A. A pattern of alternating periods of hypopnea or apnea, followed by hyperpnea
• B. A pattern of alternating periods of apnea followed by hypopnea
• C. No breathing irregularity
• D. A pattern of rapid, shallow breathing

Answer: (A)

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a rhythmic, cyclical breathing pattern where periods of apnea or shallow breaths (hypopnea) alternate with progressively deeper and faster breaths (hyperpnea), and then the pattern returns to a pause before starting again. The key is the waxing and waning of breath depth, with an intervening apnea or hypopnea followed by a hyperpnea phase. This central breathing abnormality often appears in advanced heart failure or neurologic injury and reflects a delayed, unstable feedback response to carbon dioxide levels. It’s not simply rapid shallow breathing and it’s not a stable, normal pattern, nor does it describe a plain apnea followed by a brief change without the subsequent hyperpnea phase.