Objective For disease state characterised by oscillatory ventilation, an ideal dynamic therapy would apply a counteracting oscillation in ventilation. Modulating respiratory gas transport through the circulation might allow this. We explore the ability of repetitive alternations in heart rate, using a cardiac pacemaker, to elicit oscillations in respiratory variables, and discuss the potential for therapeutic exploitation. Methods By incorporating acute cardiac output manipulations into an integrated mathematical model, we observed that a rise in cardiac output should yield a gradual rise in end-tidal carbon dioxide, and subsequently ventilation. An alternating pattern of cardiac output might therefore create oscillations in carbon dioxide and ventilation. We studied the effect of repeated alternations in heart rate of 30bpm with periodicity of 60 seconds, on cardiac output, respiratory gases and ventilation in 22 subjects with implanted cardiac pacemakers and stable breathing patterns. Results End-tidal CO₂ and ventilation developed consistent oscillations with period 60s during the heart rate alternations, with mean peak-to-trough relative excursions of 8.4±5.0% (p<0.0001) and 24.4±18.8% (p<0.0001) respectively. Furthermore, we verified the mathematical prediction that the amplitude of these oscillations would depend on those in cardiac output (r=0.59, p=0.001). Conclusions Repetitive alternations in heart rate can elicit reproducible oscillations in end-tidal CO₂ and ventilation. The size of this effect depends on the magnitude of the cardiac output response. Harnessed and timed appropriately, this cardiorespiratory mechanism might be exploited to create an active dynamic responsive pacing algorithm to counteract spontaneous respiratory oscillations, such as those causing apnoeic breathing disorders.