A patient is admitted with Cheyne-Stokes respirations. What assessment finding would you expect?

• A. A respiratory rate of less than 5 breaths per minute
• B. B respiratory rate of more than 30 breaths per minute
• C. C Alternating periods of apnea and deep, rapid breathing
• D. D noisy and congested breathing

Answer: (C)

Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a rhythm with cyclical breathing that includes periods of apnea followed by progressively deeper and faster breaths, then a gradual decrease back to apnea. So you’d observe alternating periods of apnea and deep, rapid breathing. This pattern often appears in advanced heart failure, stroke, or brain injury and reflects disrupted central control of respiration. The other options describe different patterns (very slow breathing, consistently rapid breathing without pauses, or noisy congested airways) that do not show the repeating apnea cycles seen with Cheyne-Stokes.