Astrocytoma presenting with apnea and sinus arrest.

Although some vascular lesions of the central nervous system are known to cause abnormalities in the control of breathing, association between astrocytoma and combined cardiorespiratory abnormalities in the adult is distinctly unusual. We present a case of a 52-year-old man whose only features of astrocytoma consisted of episodes of apnea and sinus arrest followed by prolonged alveolar hypoventilation. These abnormalities resolved after resection of the tumor. We conclude that in patients presenting with respiratory and sinus arrest, the search for a cause should not be limited to the cardiac and pulmonary systems, but it must include a possibility of a brain tumor.