Aerobic capacity of severely disabled Indians

Abstract

To study the oxygen uptake capacity, the arm crank ergometer test was administered at three different loads, 25,37·5 and 50 W, on seven severely disabled subjects, and their cardiorespiratory responses were compared to that of nine normal subjects (work loads, 25, 50 and 75 W). Values of [Vdot]O₂ of the disabled subjects corresponding to heart rates of 150 and 180 beats min⁻¹ were significantly lower than those of the normal subjects, when expressed in l min⁻¹, but disappear when the results are expressed in ml kg min⁻¹. The observations indicate a reduced work capacity and a capacity for increasing the stroke volume of the disabled subjects.