ABSTRACT
Study of the respiratory function of patients with cardiac disease has a venerable history, dating back to the observations in the nineteenth century by John Cheyne and William Stokes of the characteristic pattern of waxing and waning tidal breathing to which their names are eponymously attached. The first description by Cheyne was of a patient following a severe stroke, but he also had advanced cardiac disease. For most of the twentieth century, studies concentrated largely on the respiratory function of patients with valvular heart disease. Latterly there has been considerable growth of interest in patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF), particularly in relation to its effects on exercise performance and breathing during sleep.
