[Assessment of current cardiovascular stress in healthy, young people]

Forty-three young healthy subjects' estimates of their own heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and myocardial oxygen consumption at various intensities of physical work load were investigated. Their estimates were assessed using an ipsative scale, while the physiological parameters were measured continuously and simultaneously. Subjects tended to underestimate their heart rate at every intensity level, men misinterpreting less than women. Blood pressure was underestimated only at moderate physical work loads; with increasing work load blood pressure was overestimated. Estimates of myocardial oxygen consumption were the least biased. This result indicates that parameters other than the heart rate influence cardiac interoception. It seems that estimation of cardiovascular parameters influences the self regulation of physical activities.