Evidence suggests exercise is "good medicine" after stroke, yet consensus is lacking on the time to initiate, type, exertion level, and duration per session. It remains a challenge to identify outcome measures for stroke-exercise trials that are sufficiently sensitive to intervention parameters. Cerebrovascular assessments, namely cerebral blood flow and intracranial pulsatility, are herein discussed as examples of quantitative brain-specific measures that may be useful to monitor exercise-related brain changes and help to guide stroke rehabilitation interventions. Novelty: Cerebral blood flow and arterial stiffness are potential vascular targets for stroke exercise trials.
Keywords: accident vasculaire cérébral; aerobic exercise training; arterial stiffness; cerebral blood flow; cerebrovascular disease; circulation sanguine cérébrale; entraînement aux exercices d’aérobie; intracranial pulsatility; maladie cérébrovasculaire; pulsatilité intracrânienne; raideur artérielle; stroke.