Blood Flow Restricted High-Intensity Treadmill Training on Independently Ambulating Chronic Ischemic CVA Survivors

Individuals surviving Chronic Ischemic Stroke have lingering walking deficits long after their infarct. The main goal of this study is to compare two high intensity treadmill walking programs to see which improves walking more. The main question we aim to answer is: How does blood flow restricted high-intensity treadmill training impact walking function? Participants will be randomly separated into two groups. One group will perform the high intensity treadmill training with blood flow restriction on their Stroke affected leg, while the second group performs high intensity treadmill training only. Every week participants will be asked to walk on the treadmill for a total of 75 minutes during 2x 1-hour sessions. On visit 1, participants will undergo strength, balance, and walking testing. They will then be treated 2x weekly for 4 weeks (visit 2-9) and be re-tested to track progress on visit 10. Participants will again be treated 2x weekly for 4 more weeks (visit 11-18) and be tested to see the end results on visit 19. Researchers will then compare both groups to see if blood flow restriction training changes walking function, strength, and balance.