Awareness of Heart-Rate Reactivity

Abstract
Heart-rate reactivity is a major cause of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Effective procedures for teaching at-risk persons to control their heart-rate reactivity are often assumed to depend upon awareness of heart rate and changes in heart rate. Data were collected on 36 young men who underwent a combination of rest and psychological stress (mental arithmetic under timed and competitive conditions) to determine if they were aware of changes in heart rate. Analysis indicated that, while most subjects were aware of such changes, their estimates of the magnitude of those changes were exaggerated. Awareness of heart-rate reactivity then appears to require teaching prior to biofeedback for control purposes.

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