None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Stroke is a leading cause of chronic disability in many developed countries, causing both physical and cognitive impairments. Research strongly suggests that rehabilitation should be started ‘early’ with this population group. However, on closer inspection, it is evident that there is little clear consensus about what constitutes ‘early’ and thus what the optimal time to start a rehabilitation program is. As such, there is limited evidence available to help guide best practice. In the acute and sub-acute phase of stroke care, getting the balance right between diagnosis, the start of therapies, medical interventions and exercise rehabilitation can be challenging. Improving our understanding of the impact of the rehabilitation intervention on brain recovery and functional restoration should be a priority. The purpose of this research study is therefore to investigate the effect of early vs delayed exercise engagement (following stroke diagnosis) on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, cognition, psycho-social markers and physical fitness parameters in newly diagnosed stroke and high risk transient ischaemic attack (TIA) patients.
Interventions
This study intends to examine the effect of early exercise engagement on various cardiovascular, cerebrovascular
and psychosocial outcome measures in high risk TIA patients and ischaemic stroke patients.
Participants randomized to the early or delayed exercise conditions will visit the Massey University recreation centre, twice a week, for 12 weeks to take part in a group focused exercise session. Those individuals randomized to the early exercise programme will commence their exercise session
This study intends to examine the effect of early exercise engagement on various cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and psychosocial outcome measures in high risk TIA patients and ischaemic stroke patients. Participants randomized to the early or delayed exercise conditions will visit the Massey University recreation centre, twice a week, for 12 weeks to take part in a group focused exercise session. Those individuals randomized to the early exercise programme will commence their exercise sessions within 7 days of TIA or stroke diagnosis. Those randomized to the delayed exercise programme will commence their exercise sessions 28 days after TIA or stroke diagnosis. Despite differences in when the exercise programmes commence (early vs delayed), identical exercise programmes will be implemented (see below) Each exercise session will last 60 mins, incorporating approximately 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise. Participants will take part in walking, cycling (seated and recumbent) and cross-training aerobic exercise. The remaining exercise session will consist of flexibility and balance exercises. Blood pressure, heart rate and RPE will be measured prior to, during and following each bout of aerobic exercise. It is anticipated that participants will exercise between 40 and 85% of age-predicted maximal heart rate during each aerobic exercise tasks. The exercise intensity will typically increase by ~5 % each week, although the rate of progression will be dependent upon how the subject feels during each session. The exercise sessions will be adminsitered by exercise physiologists working at Massey University. To monitor participant adherence to the exercise programme, attendance records will be monitored.
Sponsors
Massey University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1) Those diagnosed with a stroke (ischaemic, atherosclerotic) or high risk TIA (with ABCD2 score >/=4), after review by a specialist stroke physician 2) Those living within Wellington City and the Greater Wellington region
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria 1) Oxygen dependence 2) uncontrolled angina 3) unstable cardiac conditions 4) uncontrolled diabetes mellitus 5) major medical conditions 6) claudication 7) febrile illness 8) significant cognitive impairment 9) immobile 10) age>85 years
Outcome results
None listed