Cheyne-Stokes respiration is best described as a pattern of recurrent central apneas alternating with a crescendo-decrescendo of tidal volume. Which option completes this statement?

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is best described as a pattern of recurrent central apneas alternating with a crescendo-decrescendo of tidal volume. Which option completes this statement?

• A. Hypoventilation
• B. Central sleep apnea
• C. Pickwickian syndrome
• D. Cheyne-Stokes respiration

Answer: (D)

Periodic breathing with central apneas and a waxing-waning (crescendo-decrescendo) tidal volume is classic Cheyne-Stokes respiration. The cycle reflects unstable ventilatory control, where the effort and depth of breaths gradually rise, then fall, until a brief pause occurs, followed by the cycle repeating. This pattern is most commonly seen in advanced heart failure or after certain brain injuries, where feedback about carbon dioxide drives oscillations in breathing. Because of that distinctive cyclical pattern, the description points to Cheyne-Stokes respiration. Other conditions don’t consistently show this repeating crescendo-decrescendo pattern with central apneas—the pattern described isn’t simply hypoventilation, nor is it the broader category of central sleep apnea in isolation, and Pickwickian (obesity-hypoventilation) syndrome involves chronic hypoventilation without the characteristic cyclic breathing pattern.

Periodic breathing with central apneas and a waxing-waning (crescendo-decrescendo) tidal volume is classic Cheyne-Stokes respiration. The cycle reflects unstable ventilatory control, where the effort and depth of breaths gradually rise, then fall, until a brief pause occurs, followed by the cycle repeating. This pattern is most commonly seen in advanced heart failure or after certain brain injuries, where feedback about carbon dioxide drives oscillations in breathing. Because of that distinctive cyclical pattern, the description points to Cheyne-Stokes respiration. Other conditions don’t consistently show this repeating crescendo-decrescendo pattern with central apneas—the pattern described isn’t simply hypoventilation, nor is it the broader category of central sleep apnea in isolation, and Pickwickian (obesity-hypoventilation) syndrome involves chronic hypoventilation without the characteristic cyclic breathing pattern.