Background: The effect of age and hypertension on the functional performance of stroke patients with inpatient rehabilitation has not been studied in the past. Objective: To examine whether advanced age and hypertension influence the functional gains of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. Methods: The charts of two hundred and seventy-two patients with thromboembolic strokes from an impatient rehabilitation unit divided into five age groups (<49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, 70 to 79 and >80 years) were reviewed. The patients' functional progress was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) at admission (A-FIM) and at discharge (D-FIM). The difference of D-FIM from A-FIM is the gain in FIM. This gain in FIM as a fraction of the Length of Stay (LOS) is the Efficiency Ratio (ER). The differences among the averages of the five age groups of the A-FIM, D-FIM, LOS and ER for the male-female and hypertensive-non-hypertensive groups were statistically analyzed separately through the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the F-ratios and the Student's t-tests. Results: Patients younger than 60 years of age had statistically significant (p<0.00004) functional progress (ER) compared to patients older than 60. Similarly, nonhypertensives 60 and younger had higher functional gains than hypertensive patients (p< 0.05) while there was no significant difference among the patients over age 60 with or without hypertension. Conclusion: Younger non-hypertensive patients seem to show better progress with inpatient rehabilitation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.