Cheyne–Stokes respiration 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.