1. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute A Very Early Rehabilitation Trial (AVERT) Improving recovery and quality of life for stroke survivors Assoc Professor Julie Bernhardt Director AVERT Program on behalf of the AVERT trialists collaboration www.nsri.org.au

2. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute The burden of stroke on the patient, their family and the community is staggering Stroke is the leading cause of serious long term disability in the Western world Over 700,000 people/year in the United States have a stroke That’s a new person with stroke every 45 seconds In addition to the personal and family burden of stroke, it costs the American community > $60 billion dollars a year 00:00:45

3. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute We believe early intensive exercise therapy can reduce the burden of stroke We are conducting high quality scientific trials of this simple, practical intervention to prove that early and intensive exercise therapy improves recovery and quality of life for stroke patients and is cost effective Widely applicable and cost effective interventions are needed if we are to make any impact on the stroke burden Early intensive exercise therapy offers hope for the 80% of stroke patients not suitable for clot busting drugs For these patients, early intensive exercise therapy offers new hope for recovery

4. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute Patients can participate in intensive exercise therapy and that it is safe In the past people believed that patients could not exercise immediately after having a stroke or that it might be dangerous These beliefs explain why a simple and practical intervention such as early intensive exercise therapy has not been tested before Our first trial indicates that this is not the case

5. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute AVERT Phase III, to conclude 2010 is the largest stroke rehabilitation trial ever What makes this trial unique  It involves over 2000 stroke patients from >10 hospitals  Patients are drawn from broad age range, both genders, all races, rural and urban environments  Designed like a drug trial to allow comparison of results with other proven interventions  Low equipment requirements, making it readily transferable What will it prove  Simple, non-drug interventions can be delivered very early after stroke  The effectiveness of early intensive exercise therapy at improving recovery and quality of life  The cost effectiveness of this intervention

6. N ational S troke R esearch I nstitute In essence: The burden of stroke is staggering Simple, cost effective interventions are urgently needed We believe early intensive exercise therapy will dramatically improve the recovery and quality of life for people who suffer a stroke It will be especially beneficial for those 80% of stroke patients who cannot receive clot buster drugs. This is a new and cost effective opportunity for recovery from stroke We hope to prove early intensive exercise therapy is an invaluable part of early stroke care.