Cheyne-Stokes respiration is best described as which pattern?

• A. Periodic respiration
• B. Rapid, shallow breathing
• C. Apnea without any breathing
• D. Gasping alternation

Answer: (A)

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a periodic breathing pattern in which the breaths wax and wane in depth and rate, followed by a brief pause of no breathing (apnea) before the next cycle begins. The defining feature is this repeating cycle: gradually increasing and then decreasing tidal volume and frequency, with an intervening apnea. It is not simply rapid, shallow breathing, which lacks the regular crescendo–decrescendo pattern; nor is it apnea all the time, which would be a continuous absence of breathing; nor is it irregular gasping, which is typically seen as agonal breathing near death. This pattern often appears in patients with serious central nervous system or cardiac conditions and can indicate a changing, often severe, state in the patient.