Comparative effectiveness of exercise on cardiorespiratory function or exercise efficiency after stroke: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials

Abstract Objective The network meta-analysis (NMA) was to compare and rank the effectiveness of different exercises on cardiorespiratory function or exercise efficiency in post-stroke patients. Design A NMA of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched. The impact of exercises including individual and combination of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), task-oriented training (TOT), gait training (GT), breathing exercise (BE), and regular rehabilitation training (RRT) on 6-min walk test (6MWT), peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 peak), maximum oxygen consumption (VO 2 max), resting heart rate (HRrest), resting systolic blood pressure (SBPrest), and resting diastolic blood pressure (DBPrest) were assessed. Results In total, 36 studies were included in the meta-analysis. AEGT (AE + GT) (63.06%) had the highest likelihood of improving 6MWT performance in post-stroke patients. RRTRE (RRT + RE) was the most favourable exercise in terms of 6MWT performance assessing by minimum clinically significant difference (MCID). AERE (AE + RE) had the highest likelihood of improving VO 2 peak and reducing HRrest in post-stroke patients. Conclusion Different types of exercise demonstrated the benefits of improving cardiorespiratory function in stroke patients. Further research is needed to determine the best exercise regimen to maximize the benefits of rehabilitation interventions for post-stroke patients.