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+/-13.6 y) 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 Vo(2)peak increased from 14.8+/-5.3 mL x kg(-1). min(-1) at 1 month to 17.3+/-7.0 mL x 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.