Reviewed and updated by Lisa Bonsall, MSN, RN, CRNP, CCRN: February 6, 2024

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is defined as the average pressure in a patient’s arteries during one cardiac cycle. It is considered a better indicator of perfusion to vital organs than systolic blood pressure (SBP). True MAP can only be determined by invasive monitoring and complex calculations; however, it can also be calculated using a formula of the SBP and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP).


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Physiology Fundamentals: Mean Arterial Pressure

Mean Arterial Pressure Formulas

To calculate the mean arterial pressure, double the diastolic blood pressure and add the sum to the systolic blood pressure. Then divide by 3. For example, if a patient’s blood pressure is 83 mm Hg/50 mm Hg, the MAP would be 61 mm Hg. Here are the steps for this calculation:

MAP = SBP + 2 (DBP)
                3

MAP = 83 +2 (50)
                3

MAP = 83 +100
             3

MAP = 183
           3

MAP = 61 mm Hg

Another way to calculate the MAP is to first calculate the pulse pressure (subtract the DBP from the SBP) and divide that by 3, then add the DBP:

MAP = 1/3 (SBP – DBP) + DBP

MAP = 1/3 (83-50) + 50

MAP = 1/3 (33) + 50

MAP = 11 + 50

MAP = 61 mm Hg

There are several clinical situations in which it is especially important to monitor mean arterial pressure. In patients with sepsis, vasopressors are often titrated based on the MAP. In the guidelines of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, it is recommended that mean arterial pressure (MAP) be maintained greater than or equal to  65 mm Hg. Also, in patients with head injury or stroke, treatment may be dependent on the patient’s MAP. 

In what other clinical situations do you monitor MAP?  
 

Mean Arterial Pressure References

Evans, L., Rhodes, A., Alhazzani, W., Antonelli, M., Coopersmith, C. M., French, C., Machado, F. R., Mcintyre, L., Ostermann, M., Prescott, H. C., Schorr, C., Simpson, S., Wiersinga, W. J., Alshamsi, F., Angus, D. C., Arabi, Y., Azevedo, L., Beale, R., Beilman, G., Belley-Cote, E., … Levy, M. (2021). Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021. Intensive care medicine, 47(11), 1181–1247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-021-06506-y

Hinkle, J. L., Cheever, K. H., & Overbaugh. (2022). Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Fifteenth Edition. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer
 

 

More Resources
Podcast	Collection	Collection
Mean Arterial Pressure	Sepsis Guidelines and Protocols: Providing Care to Patients	Focus On: Stroke