Article

The aim of this work was to investigate the cardiorespiratory
responses of patients with subacute stroke to exercise stress tests with aquatic
and land treadmills. DESIGN: Twenty-one consecutive patients who presented with
first-ever subacute stroke in 2013-2015. All subjects underwent symptom-limited
incremental exercise testing with aquatic and land treadmills. Land treadmill
speed started at 1.5 km/h and increased 0.5 km/h every 1 to 2 minutes until
maximal tolerable speed was achieved. Thereafter, the grade was elevated by 2%
every 2 minutes. In the aquatic treadmill test, subjects were submerged to the
xiphoid in 28 degrees C water. Treadmill speed started at 1.5 km/h and was
increased 0.5 km/h every 2 minutes thereafter. Cardiorespiratory responses were
recorded with aquatic and land treadmills. RESULTS:
Compared to land treadmill
exercise, aquatic treadmill exercise achieved significantly better peak VO2 (22.0
vs 20.0; P = 0.02), peak metabolic equivalents (6.3 vs 5.8; P = 0.02), and peak
rating of perceived exertion (17.6 vs 18.4, P = 0.01). Heart rate and VO2
correlated significantly during both tests (land treadmill: r = 0.96, P < 0.001;
aquatic treadmill: r = 0.99, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:
Aquatic treadmill exercise
elicited significantly better peak cardiorespiratory responses than land
treadmill exercise and may be as effective for early intensive aerobic training
in subacute stroke patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS