Calculating Ventilatory Threshold in Patients After Stroke

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Aerobic training intensity is commonly determined from heart rate reserve (HRR) or a percentage of maximal heart rate measured during a graded exercise stress test. This method has limitations in people after stroke, who may not reach maximal heart rate. Ventilatory Threshold (VT) is an alternate method of establishing aerobic training intensity. VT indicates the exercise intensity above which ventilation increases disproportionately compared to whole-body oxygen uptake, theoretically representing the optimal intensity for sustaining aerobic exercise. CONCLUSION: Ventilatory Threshold in stroke patients undergoing treadmill testing can be effectively calculated from gas exchange data using the Venilation Curve and the V-slope methods. More research is needed to assess other factors that may affect VT measurements, such as medications or diseases impacting respiratory and cardiac function in patients with stroke to determine the most optimal and effective means of establishing training intensity after stroke.