Orthostatic tolerance training of stroke patients in general medical wards. An experimental study

In order to initiate early activation and counteract the negative effects of bed rest, 71 patients acutely admitted to hospital with a confirmed stroke were randomized to either training or control wards. Sixty-three persons participated in a first orthostatic tolerance test on days 5-7 after admission, which was replicated on days 10-12. A third test was performed three months later. Regular stand-ups were initiated on days 1-2 after admission to hospital and were continued for 1-2 weeks. The trained group had a lower increase in heart rate during tilting and a lower proportion of severely disabled patients on days 5-7 compared with the control group. This difference was statistically significant but cannot be proved to be a result from the regular stand-ups. Still, this minimum type of early activation can be recommended for acute stroke patients, mainly those with a cerebral infarction, who are able to cooperate with the nursing staff.