Cheyne Stokes Respiration

I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea about 10 years ago and am very compliant on my use of my CPAP. A few months ago, I purchased a Respironics PR System One 60 so that I could get some read outs of my sleep results through using SleepyHead. I am now seeing that I have periods of Cheyne Stokes respirations on most days. Typically there are no more than 5-7 episodes a day. Sometime there are none, sometimes only 1-3. One thing that is consistent is that they almost always occur in the early morning hours between about 3 am and when I wake up.

I can't find any good information on whether that is normal. What I have read said they are associated with central sleep apnea rather than obstructive, and are often associated with medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, strokes, brain tumors, etc., none of which I have to my knowledge. I am wondering it if is one of those things that is serious in large amounts, but common in small amounts. None of the literature I have read on it talks about it other than in the extreme.

Anyone else have experience with this, and is it just a normal part of obstructive apnea? I am seeing my PCP next week for a routine checkup and will mention it to him, but he is not an expert in sleep disorders.

Hi @MikeJ. Cheyne Stokes respiration is a very specific breathing pattern, and central apneas are one part of the pattern. The condition is not considered normal, and I do encourage you to talk to your physician about what the software is reporting. Please keep in mind that the CPAP machine and/or the software might be seeing central apneas and reporting them as Cheyne Stokes respirations in error. As a technologist, I have seen this occur. If you have not had a new sleep study since your diagnosis 10 years ago, requesting a new study might be helpful in determining whether your sleep apnea has changed in some way. Best wishes, and please let us know if we can answer any questions!