Abstract
The main objective of the present study was to determine the effects on cardiovascular stress of tasks that have varying degrees of static and dynamic components (weight holding, manual lifting and stepping). Heart rate, oxygen consumption and blood pressure were used as indices of cardiovascular stress. The results showed that oxygen consumption and heart rate responses to manual lifting are significantly lower than those of stepping and higher than those of weight holding. A low frequency lifting task evoked significantly lower systolic blood pressure than a high frequency lifting task. This study supported the idea that a physiologic fatigue criterion (PFC) based on stepping should not be applied directly to tasks such as manual lifting. In addition, a PFC for manual lifting should not be based only on oxygen consumption or heart rate; it also should incorporate systolic blood pressure as one of the monitored stress factors in setting lifting standards.