Feasibility and effects of adapted cardiac rehabilitation after stroke: a prospective trial
Key result
A 6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation program was highly feasible and significantly improved aerobic capacity (VO2peak) from 14.8 to 16.2 ml·kg-1·min-1 (P=0.046) in stroke survivors.
Why the study?
Does a 6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation program improve feasibility and aerobic capacity in individuals with mild to moderate stroke disability?
Population
43 individuals with mild to moderate stroke disability
Comparison
6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation… vs 3-month stable baseline period
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
6 months
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
May support adapted cardiac rehabilitation in mild-moderate stroke; hypothesis-generating and requires RCTs before practice change.
Key Points
- The study aims to assess the feasibility of adapting cardiac rehabilitation for individuals with stroke and to evaluate its effects on aerobic capacity and risk factors.
- Prospective trial with a 3-month baseline and 6-month intervention period, involving 43 participants
- Feasibility assessed by completion rates, adverse events, and exercise session metrics
- Outcomes measured included VO2peak, 6-Minute Walk Test distance, and stroke risk factors
- 41 participants commenced the program, with 38 (93%) completing all aspects
- Post-intervention VO2peak improved from baseline (P = 0.046)
- Ventilatory threshold increase approached significance (P = 0.062)
Structured PICO
Does a 6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation program improve feasibility and aerobic capacity in individuals with mild to moderate stroke disability?
P
Population
43 adults with mild to moderate stroke disability (mean age 64.5 years, 30% female) participated in a 6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation program following a 3-month baseline period.
I
Intervention
6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation (CR) intervention
C
Comparator
3-month stable baseline period (repeated measures design)
O
Outcome
Feasibility (number of participants completing the study, occurrence of adverse events, and frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise performed)surrogate
Main Result
Absolute Event Rate: 16.2% vs 14.8%
p-value: p=0.046
Adapted cardiac rehabilitation is feasible, safe, and effective at improving aerobic capacity in survivors of mild to moderate stroke.
Limitations
- Lack of an independent control group (single cohort design)
- Potential underestimation of exercise volume due to assuming zero minutes for unsubmitted diaries
- Unexpectedly high variance in 6-minute walk test scores, leaving the study underpowered for this outcome and risk factors
- Lack of follow-up data to determine if observed benefits were retained after the program ended
Cite This Study
Tang et al. (2010) studied Stroke (n=43). Adapted cardiac rehabilitation vs. Baseline period (intra-subject control) was evaluated on Aerobic capacity (VO2peak, ml·kg-1·min-1) (p=0.046). A 6-month adapted cardiac rehabilitation program was highly feasible and significantly improved aerobic capacity (VO2peak) from 14.8 to 16.2 ml·kg-1·min-1 (P=0.046) in stroke survivors.