Key result
Cardiorespiratory training after stroke improves fitness and walking speed but fails to reduce mortality.
Why the study?
Low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are common after stroke and are associated with post-stroke disability and increased risk of secondary stroke, motivating evaluation of cardiorespiratory training effects.
Does cardiorespiratory training improve fitness, physical function, and clinical outcomes in people with stroke?
Meta-Analysis (n=2,672)
Does cardiorespiratory training improve fitness, physical function, and clinical outcomes in people with stroke?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Cardiorespiratory training after stroke may slightly improve fitness, walking speed, and balance, but it does not affect mortality or secondary events, and the clinical meaningfulness of the functional improvements remains uncertain.
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Kramer et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in stroke (n=2,672). Cardiorespiratory training vs. usual care, no intervention, or a non-exercise intervention was evaluated on fitness (ml/kg/min) at the end of intervention (MD 2.37, 95% CI 1.39 to 3.36). Cardiorespiratory training after stroke increased fitness (MD 2.37 ml/kg/min; 95% CI 1.39-3.36) and walking speed at the end of intervention, but did not affect mortality or secondary events.
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