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+/-13.5 y) with a poststroke interval of 26.0+/-8.8 days.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: 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.