A breathing pattern with varying depth of respiration and brief periods of apnea

A pattern of breathing with a gradual increase in the depth of respiration to a maximum, followed by a progressive decrease in the depth of respiration resulting in apnea, characteristically seen in heart failure patients

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.