Kussmaul breathing is a type of hyperventilation that is the lung's emergency response to acidosis. Kussmaul breathing causes a labored, deeper breathing rate. It is most commonly associated with conditions that cause metabolic acidosis, particularly diabetes.
Kussmaul respirations are fast, deep breaths that occur in response to metabolic acidosis. Kussmaul respirations happen when the body tries to remove carbon dioxide, an acid, from the body by quickly breathing it out.
Kussmaul breathing is a sign of metabolic acidosis (when there's too much acid in your bloodstream) and most commonly results from diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes.
A metabolic acidosis soon produces hyperventilation, but at first it will tend to be rapid and relatively shallow. Kussmaul breathing develops as the acidosis grows more severe. Indeed, Kussmaul originally identified this type of breathing as a sign of coma and imminent death in diabetic patients.
Cheyne-Stokes respiration is a specific form of periodic breathing (waxing and waning amplitude of flow or tidal volume) characterized by a crescendo-decrescendo pattern of respiration between central apneas or central hypopneas.
View Source involves breathing too slowly or shallowly, while hyperventilation. View Source describes breathing too quickly or deeply. While Cheyne-Stokes breathing does include periods of both, its specific pattern of hyperventilation followed by hypoventilation with periodic apneas or hypopneas is unique.
There may be times when a dying person has an abnormal breathing pattern, known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing. The person's breathing may alternate between deep, heavy breaths and shallow or even no breaths. Some people very near death might have noisy breathing, sometimes called a death rattle.
As the moment of death comes nearer, breathing usually slows down and becomes irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths . This is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
These periods of apnea will eventually increase from a few seconds to more extended periods during which no breath is taken. This pattern or respirations is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing, named for the person who first described it, and usually indicates that death is very close (minutes to hours).
5 Agonal respirations do not provide adequate oxygen to the body and should be considered the same as no breathing at all. Sometimes, this breathing pattern is called "fish breathing" or "guppy breathing" because of the resemblance to a fish out of the water.
The presence of metabolic acidosis will normally generate a respiratory response. The reduction of serum bicarbonate and pH will result in hyperventilation and reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2), partially preventing further fall in pH and bicarbonate concentration.
Agonal breathing is slow, very shallow irregular respirations. Kussmaul's respiration is a deep, sighing respiration with normal or slow rate. Sighing respiration is a normal physiologic reaction of human body to fatigue and emotional changes.
The openings of the nose spreading open while breathing may indicate that a person is having to work harder to breathe. Retractions. The chest appears to sink in just below the neck and/or under the breastbone and/or in between the ribs with each breath — one way of trying to bring more air into the lungs. Sweating.
As the moment of death comes nearer, the person's breathing may slow down and become irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths. This is sometimes known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
Gasping is a brainstem reflex; it is the last respiratory pattern prior to terminal apnoea. Gasping is also referred to as agonal respiration and the name is appropriate because the gasping respirations appear uncomfortable, causing concern that the patient is dyspnoeic and in agony.
Cheyne-Stokes treatment: Intensive heart failure treatment
The authors suggest that most patients diagnosed with Cheyne-Stokes breathing would already be on “optimal medical treatment for congestive heart failure, and as a result the severity of Cheyne-Stokes respiration would diminish.”
Several factors have been implicated in the genesis of Cheyne-Stokes respiration, including low cardiac output and recurrent hypoxia. The key pathophysiological mechanism triggering Cheyne-Stokes respiration is hyperventilation and low arterial CO2 (PaCO2) that when below the apneic threshold triggers a central apnea.
The primary symptom of Cheyne-Stokes respiration is periods of abnormal breathing that occur while a person is awake or asleep. During these periods, a person cycles between heavy breathing and shallow or paused breathing.
Cheyne-Stokes respirations most often occur at night and are common in people with advanced heart failure. Other conditions affecting the lungs, brain, or circulatory system can also cause Cheyne-Stokes respiration.
It is a symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning, along with syncope or coma. This type of respiration is different from respiratory depression, often seen after morphine administration.
Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) is thought of as a neurogenic alteration of the respiratory pattern typically accompanying bilateral or deeply seated brain damage [1-4].