Effect of Pulmonary Function Training with a Respirator on Functional Recovery and Quality of Life of Patients with Stroke

Abstract

A stroke is a sudden onset cerebral blood circulation disorder. It occurs in patients with cerebrovascular disease due to various predisposing factors causing stenosis, occlusion, or rupture of intracerebral arteries, which, in turn, causes acute cerebral blood circulation disturbance and clinically manifests as symptoms and signs of excessive or permanent cerebral dysfunction. It can cause serious harm to patients’ physical and mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Breathe-Link breathing trainers on lung function and the ability to perform activities of daily living in patients with stroke. Sixty patients with stroke were randomly divided into two groups. One group was set as the control group and received routine breathing training. The experimental group received a Breathe-Link trainer based on regular training, with rehabilitation training for 12 weeks as the time node. Respiratory muscle strength, respiratory velocity, respiratory capacity, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), and rate in the first second (FEV1/FVC) were used to evaluate the respiratory function of patients, and the Barthel index was used to evaluate the ability to perform activities of daily living. Improvements in respiratory function and daily living ability were compared between the two groups. After 12 weeks of training, respiratory muscle strength, respiratory velocity, respiratory volume, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and Barthel index of patients in the two groups improved compared with those before training ( $P$  < 0.05), and the improvement in the treatment group was better than that in the control group ( $P$  < 0.05). Breathe-Link breathing trainers can improve lung function and the ability to perform activities of daily living in patients with stroke, and its effect is acceptable. It can be recommended for clinical use.