About this trial
People who had a stroke at least 6 months prior and who still have difficulty with walking will each be randomly assigned to receive either moderate or vigorous intensity walking exercise. Both protocols will be performed individually with a physical therapist for 45 minutes, 3x/week for 12 weeks. Measures including walking function will be assessed at baseline (PRE), after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of training (12WK) and at 3-month follow up (3moPOST), by raters who are unaware of the participant randomization.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Age 30-85 years at time of consenting
Hemiparesis from ischemic and/or hemorrhagic strokes
Most recent stroke for which participant sought treatment, at least 6 months prior to study consent
Walking speed <1.0 m/s on the 10-meter walk test
Disqualifiers
Exercise testing uninterpretable for ischemia or arrhythmia (e.g. resting ECG abnormality that makes exercise ECG uninterpretable for ischemia and no other clinical testing from the past year available to rule out these conditions)
Evidence of significant arrhythmia or myocardial ischemia on treadmill ECG graded exercise test in the absence of recent (past year) more definitive clinical testing (e.g. stress nuclear imaging) with negative result
Hospitalization for cardiac or pulmonary disease within past 3 months
Implanted pacemaker or defibrillator with an upper heart rate limit that would interfere with exercise testing or prescription, or with unknown limit
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Training
- High-Intensity Interval Training
Treatment groups
Sponsors and collaborators
University of Cincinnati
Lead sponsor
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Collaborator
University of Kansas Medical Center
Collaborator
University of Delaware
Collaborator