Because cardiovascular disorders and
stroke may induce
Cheyne-Stokes respiration, our purpose was to study the interaction among cerebral activity, cerebral circulation, blood pressure, and blood
gases during
Cheyne-Stokes respiration. Ten patients with
heart failure or a previous
stroke were investigated during
Cheyne-Stokes respiration with recordings of daytime polysomnography, cerebral blood flow velocity, intra-arterial blood pressure, and intra-arterial oxygen saturation with and without
oxygen administration. There were simultaneous changes in wakefulness, cerebral blood flow velocity, and respiration with accompanying changes in blood pressure and heart rate approximately 10 s later. Cerebral blood flow velocity, blood pressure, and heart rate had a minimum occurrence in
apnea and a maximum occurrence during hyperpnea. The
apnea-induced
oxygen desaturations were diminished during
oxygen administration, but the hemodynamic alterations persisted.
Oxygen desaturations were more severe and occurred earlier according to intra-arterial measurements than with finger oximetry. It is not possible to explain
Cheyne-Stokes respiration by alterations in blood
gases and circulatory time alone.
Cheyne-Stokes respiration may be characterized as a state of phase-linked cyclic changes in cerebral, respiratory, and cardiovascular functions probably generated by variations in central nervous activity.