Exercise capacity early after stroke

Objective: To evaluate exercise capacity of patients with a poststroke interval of less than 1 month. Design: Prospective, cohort, observational study. Setting: Exercise testing laboratory in a tertiary care hospital. Participants: Twenty-nine patients (mean age standard deviation, 64.9 +/- 13.5y) with a poststroke interval of 26.0 +/- 8.8 days. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure: Peak exercise capacity (Vo(2)peak) was measured by open-circuit spirometry during maximal effort treadmill walking with 15% body-weight support. Results: Mean Vo(2)peak was 14.4 +/- 5.1 mL . kg(-1) . min(-1) or 60% +/- 16% of age- and sex-related normative values for sedentary healthy adults. Conclusions: Exercise capacity approximately 1 month after stroke was compromised. Further research is needed to elucidate the physiologic basis of this low capacity. (C) 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.