Measures of Cardiovascular Health and Physical Function after an Aerobic Exercise Intervention in a Patient Fifteen Days Post-Stroke.
Study Design: Case StudyBackground: Changes in cardiorespiratory (CR) fitness post-stroke severely impact an individual's quality of life. The purpose of this case study was to demonstrate whether a moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise program would improve cardiovascular fitness, and physical performance measures in a participant following discharge from acute stroke rehabilitation. The participant is a 58 year-old female who experienced an ischemic stroke 15 days prior to beginning the exercise intervention.Case Description: The participant was provided a supervised 8-week exercise intervention on a Total Body Recumbent Stepper (TBRS). The exercise intervention consisted of three sessions per week; the first 4 weeks the participant exercised at a moderate intensity of 50-59% heart rate reserve (HRR) calculated from the baseline exercise test; the last 4 weeks the intensity was increased to 60-69% HRR. Exercise duration began at 20 minutes with the goal of reaching 30 minutes of continuous exercise at a specified workload.Outcomes: Following 8-weeks of intervention, the participant showed improvement in cardiovascular measures including: resting blood pressure (BP), resting heart rate (HR), VO2peak, and the maximum distance walked (6-MWT).Conclusion: The use of a moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise intervention may be effective for participants in the sub-acute phase of stroke recovery in order to improve cardiovascular health and physical function.
University of Kansas Medical Center, Dept. of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science.
Angela A
AA
Lentz
University of Kansas Medical Center, School of Medicine.
Anna E
AE
Mattlage
Abigail L
AL
Ashenden
Michael A
MA
Rippee
Sandra A
SA
Billinger