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Periodic Respiration

Periodic respiration is a cyclical waxing and waning of the depth and rate of breathing (Cheyne-Stokes breathing or respiration), over about

two minutes, the crescendo-decrescendo sequence being separated by central apneas. A so-called variant Cheyne-Stokes pattern has hypopneas rather than apneas.
Periodic respiration may be observed in unconscious patients with lesions of the deep cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon, or upper pons, or with central or tonsillar brain herniation; it has also been reported in multiple system atrophy. Prolonged circulatory time (congestive heart failure) and hypoxemia (e.g., at altitude) may also cause periodic respiration, but with a shorter cycle.