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Ventilatory response to progressive isocapnic hypoxia was measured in 14 parents of victims of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and 12 matched control parents. Controls had a value for a measure of ventilatory responsiveness (parameter A) of 200.8 ± 46.4, while SIDS parents had a significantly lower value of 64.4 ± 16.2 (P < 0.01). Since degree of hypoxic ventilatory drive is a hereditary characteristic, it is concluded that a relatively low ventilatory responsiveness to hypoxia might have been present in the SIDS victims.