Longitudinal changes in exercise capacity after stroke

Objective: To determine if stroke patients without specific aerobic training experience a change in the first 6 months after stroke. Design: Descriptive, longitudinal study with repeated measures of exercise capacity at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after stroke. Setting: Exercise testing laboratory in a tertiary care hospital. Participants: Consecutive sample of 25 patients (mean age +/- standard deviation, 64.1 +/- 13.6y) 1 month after first ischemic stroke. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Peak oxygen consumption (Vo(2)peak) was measured by open-circuit spirometry during maximal effort treadmill walking with 15% body-weight support. Results: Mean Vo2peak increased from 14.8 +/- 5.3 mL(.)kg(-1.)min(-1) at 1 month to 17.3 +/- 7.0 mL(.)kg(-1.)min(-1) at 6 months after stroke (P = .003) or from 61.7% +/- 16% to 71.3% +/- 23% of age-and sex-related normative values for sedentary healthy adults (P = .008). Conclusions: Despite improvements in Vo(2)peak and other indices of cardiovascular training between 1 and 6 months poststroke, substantial limitations in exercise capacity persisted. Further study is needed to determine the extent to which these limitations can be modified through aerobic conditioning.(C) 2004 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.