[Physiological responses during exercise in mild to moderate post stroke male patients]

Creating a physiological profile for the stroke population is essential in order to establish a database and as a source for comparison for clinical work. The main purpose of this study was to assess, characterize and identify the physiological responses during exercise in mild and moderate stroke male patients, by comparing them to healthy people of the same age and the same lifestyle. All subjects participated in cardiopulmonary stress tests. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the stroke subjects group and the healthy subjects group, both in the maximal oxygen capacity per kilogram and the absolute maximal oxygen capacity (19.03 +/- 5.05 ml/kg/min vs 26.32 +/- 7.06 ml/kg/min and 1.58 +/- 046 L/min vs 2.01 +/- 0.45 L/min respectively). The maximal heart rate of the stroke subjects group was significantly lower than the maximal heart rate of the healthy subjects group (139 +/- 15 vs 158 +/- 12 beats per minute respectively). The maximal work load was also significantly lower in the stroke subjects group than in the healthy subjects group (99.62 +/- 31W vs 146.11 +/- 23W respectively). The levels of lactic acid at the end of the stress test were significantly lower in the stroke subjects group compared to the healthy subjects (5.83 +/- 1.76 millimol/L vs 8 +/- 0.92 millimol/L, respectively). We concluded that there is probably an impairment in the cardiac reflexes of the autonomic nervous system that effects the aerobic capacity of mild to moderate stroke patients.