[1] 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.

[2] Cheyne–Stokes respiration and periodic breathing are the two regions on a spectrum of severity of oscillatory tidal volume.

[5] It is also seen in newborns with immature respiratory systems, in visitors new to high altitudes, and in severely ill patients approaching end-of-life.

Because of this interrelationship, the set of possible steady states forms a hyperbola: In the figure below, this relationship is the curve falling from the top left to the bottom right.

Meanwhile, there is another curve, shown in the figure for simplicity as a straight line from bottom left to top right, which is the body's ventilatory response to different levels of CO2.

In general, transient or persistent disturbances in ventilation, CO2 or oxygen levels can be counteracted by the respiratory control system in this way.

Widely accepted risk factors are hyperventilation, prolonged circulation time, and reduced blood gas buffering capacity.

However, other variables, such as chemoreflex sensitivity can only be measured by specific experiment, and therefore abnormalities in them will not be found in routine clinical data.

[14] Cheyne-Stokes is one of several abnormal breathing patterns potentially seen in Joubert syndrome and related disorders.