A study found that a certain type of rehabilitation reduces mortality risk by up to 76 percent in the year after a stroke for those that have suffered from this medical event. Since a second stroke and other health complications are quite common after a first stroke has occurred, this is very exciting news for stroke survivors.
The cardiac rehabilitation routine that was found to be so effective involved medically supervised exercise, doctor directed therapy, and regular physician follow ups. The therapy that was examined involved 36 sessions of cardiovascular exercise. Even those with physical impairments were able to participate in this with the use of modified equipment. When medically supervised, the exercise was done in a safe way that did not put the patients at risk of heart issues.
449 patients participated in the study, but only 246 completed it. Of those that completed the program, only four died within the year following their stroke. Of those that did not complete the program, 14 percent passed away. Unfortunately, those that didn’t complete the program had a much higher mortality rate. Now, this isn’t an automatic indicator that this particular therapy was effective. It could be possible that those who were in poorer health to begin with self-selected their way out of the study. However, researchers did attempt to account for this in their controls. Still, much more research is needed along these lines to help improve outcomes for stroke patients.
A stroke is a serious, life changing event. But not all strokes lead to death, and not all strokes need to lead to permanent disability. But by focusing on recovery, we can help make lives better.
The research team from Elsevier published their findings in the Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases. The team hopes that these findings can be enough evidence to persuade the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to fund this type of intervention for those that are recovering from a stroke. Hopefully, this research can also have a positive impact on other research teams to improve stroke recovery even more.
Whatever health challenges your loved one might be facing, there are options out there that can make senior care a lot more accessible and a lot more helpful. Whether it’s stroke recovery, a physical disability, dementia, or something else, there’s a care option out there that can help your entire family to live a better quality of life.
We’d love to talk more about your options with you. Please feel free to reach out by phone or email and let us know what you’re looking for. We offer a free consultation service designed to help answer your questions, get you pointed in the right direction, and help your family to get the care and attention that they need to thrive. Senior care isn’t one size fits all, but there are so many different options and ways to personalize the experience that you are bound to find the right choice.
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