Pre-stroke physical activity is related to good functional outcomes in stroke patients after endovascular thrombectomy.

Abstract. Studies have shown that regular physical activity (PA) may re-duce the risk of stroke. Nevertheless, the protective effect of pre-stroke PA on the post-stroke functional status in patients treated with endovascular throm-bectomy (EVT) is still uncertain. For this study, hospitalized patients with acute ischemic stroke were selected, all of whom underwent EVT after occlusion of the large vessels in the anterior circulation. The PA levels before the stroke were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and the outcome indicators (the modified Rankin scale score and the Barthel index) were evalu-ated. A total of 144 patients were included in this study. Among the patients with high PA levels before the stroke, men were more active than women, and the proportion of patients with smoking and alcohol abuse was high before admission. Also, the patients with a high PA level were more likely to have no history of hypertension and atrial fibrillation, and had lower triglyceride levels at admission. We determined that a high pre-stroke PA level is independently related to a favorable functional outcome at three months. In addition, there was no correlation between a high pre-stroke PA and a good functional outcome at two weeks. A high pre-stroke PA level is independently associated with sat-isfactory activities of daily living at three months. Regular PA before a stroke is an independent predictor of a favorable functional outcome in patients with anterior circulation strokes who receive EVT, and it has a protective effect on the functional prognosis.