Cheyne-stokes respiration is described as alternating periods of what pattern?

• A. Alternating periods of deep and shallow breathing with pauses
• B. Consistent rapid breathing
• C. Irregular breathing without pauses
• D. No breathing while awake

Answer: (A)

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a cyclic breathing pattern where breaths gradually become deeper and sometimes faster, then shallower, and are interrupted by a period of no breathing (apnea) before the cycle repeats. This alternating deep and shallow breathing with pauses is the hallmark. It’s not a steady rapid breathing, nor irregular breathing without pauses, and it’s not something that occurs only while awake. It often occurs during sleep in people with heart failure or neurological injury, reflecting a delayed feedback in the brain’s control of respiration.