Energy expenditure and cost of walking and stair climbing in individuals with chronic stroke.

Background: Subjects with stroke show higher energy cost (EC) during walking, when compared to healthy individuals, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Additionally, the behavior of physiological variables during other activities has not been investigated.

Objectives: To investigate energy expenditure (EE) and EC during the six-minute walking test (6MWT) and stair climb test (SCT) in chronic stroke subjects compared to healthy controls.