Brisk Walking Improves Health of Stroke Survivors

The best workout to strengthen the heart is brisk walking. Researchers from the University of West Indies in Jamaica suggest that stroke survivors can improve the quality of their life with regular brisk walking.

Prior to this, a study showed how one can improve their quality of life after stroke by increasing their physical activity without putting too much stress on the body. This evaluated the benefits of walking on a treadmill and cycling.  

But the latest study focuses on walking without exercise equipment.

In order to prove the hypothesis, the researchers conducted a study on 128 adults who had survived a stroke. They were from selected from three Jamaican hospitals and have survived either an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke six to 24 months before the study. Men belonged to an average age of 64 and women belonged to an average age of 70.

These participants were divided into two groups. One group was asked to perform brisk outdoor walking three times a week and the second group received therapeutic massage and no supervised exercise.

The researchers noticed that stroke survivors had an improvement in the quality of life by 16.7 percent. They also walked 17.6 percent farther in a six-minute endurance test conducted. When compared to the massage group that had a resting heart rate of 6.7 percent, the first group that was involved in brisk walking had a lower resting heart rate of 1.5 percent.

"Walking is a great way to get active after a stroke," lead study author Carron Gordon, Ph.D., said in a press statement. "It's familiar, inexpensive and it's something people could very easily get into."

The researchers interviewed the participants before and after the study and also measured the fitness and quality of life. Their heart rate and blood pressure was also monitored before and after each walking session.

Data according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that more than 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year.

The study was published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.