<Tr> <Th> MeSH </Th> <Td> D002639 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Cheyne--Stokes respiration / ˈtʃeɪnˈstoʊks / is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by progressively deeper, and sometimes faster, breathing followed by a gradual decrease that results in a temporary stop in breathing called an apnea . The pattern repeats, with each cycle usually taking 30 seconds to 2 minutes . It is an oscillation of ventilation between apnea and hyperpnea with a crescendo - diminuendo pattern, and is associated with changing serum partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide . </P> <P> Cheyne--Stokes respiration and periodic breathing are the two regions on a spectrum of severity of oscillatory tidal volume . The distinction lies in what is observed at the trough of ventilation: Cheyne--Stokes respiration involves apnea (since apnea is a prominent feature in their original description) while periodic breathing involves hypopnea (abnormally small but not absent breaths). </P>

Abnormal breathing with patterns of dyspnea and apnea