For seniors who had a stroke and risk dementia, exercise can help, study says

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- While a stroke doubles a person's risk for dementia, a new study suggests that fairly intensive exercise can improve cognitive function in adults who are several months into recovery.

Researchers found that a twice-weekly, hour-long routine of strength, aerobic, agility, and balance training exercises worked better than either social enrichment activities or stretches and light-intensity exercises for this purpose.

The findings from a study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, were published Thursday in JAMA Network Open.

Stroke is caused by interrupted blood flow to the brain.

Chronic stroke is generally defined as the period of recovery that occurs at least six months out from initial symptoms -- past the initial recovery period that may see the most rapid response to intensive therapies.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of serious disability for adults, but it is also preventable and treatable.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke and every 3 1/2 minutes, someone dies of stroke, the CDC says. In 2020, 1 in 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease was due to stroke.

Leading causes of stroke are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes -- which affect 1 in 3 U.S. adults, the agency notes.

The Canadian study involved 120 community-dwelling adults with chronic stroke, 55 years and older, who could walk 6 meters, or roughly 6 1/2 yards, and did not have dementia.

They were randomly assigned to twice-weekly, supervised classes in one of three groups: the fairly intensive exercise program, a program of cognitive and social enrichment activities, or a control group of light-intensity exercise.

Interventions lasted six months, with a six-month follow-up period. The participants were evaluated at baseline, 6 months and 12 months.

The researchers said further studies must be done to figure out the best training parameters for maximizing benefits in seniors with chronic stroke.