Cheyne-Stokes respiration: Encyclopedia - Cheyne-Stokes respiration

Cheyne-Stokes respiration

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by periods of breathing with gradually increasing and decreasing tidal volume interspersed with periods of apnea. In cases of increasing intracranial pressure, it is often the first abnormal breathing pattern to appear.

The condition was named after John Cheyne and William Stokes, the physicians who first classified it.

This is caused by the failure of the respiratory center in the brain to compensate quickly for changing serum partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

This abnormal pattern of breathing can be seen in patients with strokes, head injuries or brain tumors, and in patients with congestive heart failure. In some instances, it can occur in otherwise normal people during sleep at high altitudes.

Cheyne-Stokes respirations are not the same as Biot's Respirations ("cluster breathing"), where groups of breaths tend to be similar in size.

Categories: Abnormal respiration | Eponymous medical signs

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cheyne-Stokes respiration", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki