08/16/2021 10:28 AM
Clarín.com
Good Life
Updated 08/16/2021 10:28 AM
It is known that the practice of physical exercise is beneficial for the general population, but also for people who have suffered vascular events, such as a stroke, as various studies have shown over the years.
But now, one promoted by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has shown that people who walk at least half an hour a day (three to four hours a week) after having a stroke may have up to
54% less risk of death
from any cause.
The results published in Neurology are not limited only to walking, but to other equivalent exercises such as working in the garden, biking at least two or three hours a week, for example.
The study found the greatest benefit for the youngest stroke survivors: When those younger than 75 got at least that much exercise,
their risk of death dropped by 80%
.
Physical activity is one of the pillars of a healthy life.
Photo Shutterstock.
Exercise therapies
"A better understanding of the role of physical activity in the health of stroke survivors is needed to design better exercise therapies and public health campaigns so that we can help these people live longer," said the study author, Dr. Raed A. Joundi, from the University of Calgary (Canada) and member of the American Academy of Neurology.
"Our results are exciting, because just three to four hours of weekly walking was associated with
large reductions in mortality
, and that may be achievable for many members of the community with prior stroke," he said.
"Additionally, we found that people gained even greater benefit from walking
six to seven hours a week,
" he said.
And he said these results could have implications for guidelines for people who survive stroke later in life.
Strokes can lead to serious disability and / or death.
Half suffer sequelae and one in four dies after the event, approximately.
The most common type of stroke is ischemic, which occurs when
blood flow in a vessel
leading to the brain
is blocked
, either by clots or plaques.
Less frequent, little preventable and with a worse prognosis is the hemorrhagic type, caused by the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain.
Having a stroke is a risk factor for suffering another one in the future.
Swimming, biking, and other activities are also associated with benefits.
Photo Shutterstock.
Frequency and duration
The study looked at 895 people with a mean age of 72 who had previously had a stroke and 97,805 people with a mean age of 63 who had never had it.
Average weekly physical activity was assessed from questions about activities such as walking, running, gardening,
lifting weights, biking, and swimming
.
For example, study participants were asked, "In the past three months, how many times did you walk for exercise? How much time did you spend each time?"
The researchers used the
frequency and duration
of each type of physical activity to calculate the amount of exercise.
Related to this, a limitation of the study is that people may not have accurately reported their amount of exercise.
Thus, the study authors followed the participants for an average of
about four and a half years
.
After taking into account other factors that could affect the risk of death, such as age and smoking, the researchers found that 25% of people who had previous strokes died of any cause, compared to 6% of people who had never had a stroke.
In the stroke group, 15% of people who did the equivalent of three to four hours of walking died during follow-up, compared with 33% who did not do that
minimal amount of exercise
.
In the group of people who had never had a stroke, 4% of the people who did that amount of exercise died, compared to 8% who did not.
To walk.
Physical activity.
Physical exercise.
Photo Shutterstock.
The researchers found the greatest reduction in death rate among people who had had a previous stroke but were younger than 75 years old.
In that group, 11% of those who exercised at least the minimum amount died, compared with 29% who did not.
Thus, people with a previous stroke who were less than 75 years old and met the minimum level of physical activity had an 80% less chance of dying during the study follow-up than those who did not.
People over the age of 75 who did minimal exercise experienced fewer benefits, but
were still 32% less likely to die
.
"Our results suggest that minimal physical activity can
reduce long-term
all-cause
mortality in
stroke survivors," Joundi said.
"We should place particular emphasis on this especially in the very young, as they can obtain the greatest health benefits by just walking 30 minutes each day," he concluded.
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