Sekundarni povzetek: |
Introduction: Measuring the heart rate during physical activity and thus monitoring the cardiovascular response can give us valuable information about the functioning of the autonomic nervous system among people after stroke. Purpose: To identify the differences in heart rate response and rating of perceived exertion, their mutual relationship during various functional tests before, after 4 weeks of exercise, and after 10 weeks of exercise in people in the chronic post-stroke period. Methods: The study involved nine subjects, aged between 30 and 80, in the chronic period after stroke. In all three assessments, subjects performed 10 meter walk test (10MWT), six-minute walk test (6MWT), stair climb test, five times sit to stand test (5TSTS) and 2 minute step test (2MST). The heart rate was recorded by using a heart rate monitor (H10, Polar, Finland) during every test and for six more minutes after the completion of every test. In addition, subjects rated perceived exertion on a 15-point Borg scale at the end of each test. For the analysis of heart rate, we used the initial, final, highest and average value and heart rate recovery, which were converted into proportions of the subjects’ calculated maximum heart rate. Results: During the 10MWT and 5TSTS, the final, highest, mean, and heart rate recovery values were lower than during 6MWT and 2MST, while there were no statistically significant differences among the 6MWT, the 2MST and the stair climb test. Similarly, perceived exertion were lower after 10MWT, stair climb test and 5TSTS than after 6MWT and 2MST, while there were no major differences between 6MWT and 2MST. Moreover, no association between subjects’ functional abilities, heart rate, and perceived exertion was found in any of the assessments. Conclusion: Among the tests, there are differences in heart rate response in RPE estimates. 6MWT and 2MST were the most demanding for the cardiovascular system. The stair climb test was similarly demanding, followed by 5TSTS, and the least demanding was the walking speed test. Future studies should consider a larger sample of subjects to examine the responses of the autonomic nervus system to differently demanding physical activities. |