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CardiologyMAP

Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) Calculator

Calculate conventional mean arterial pressure from one paired systolic and diastolic blood-pressure reading, with pulse pressure and a transparent formula audit.

Content updated: View sources

QuickMedCalc is developed and maintained by an independent developer. Medical content is not independently reviewed by a physician.

Formula and medical content are based on the references listed on this page. See sources, About, and Sources and Review Process.

Blood-pressure input scope

Use systolic and diastolic values from the same blood-pressure reading in mmHg. The estimate inherits the quality of the source measurement and cannot correct cuff, position, movement, rhythm, or device error.

Do not combine values from different times, arms, devices, postures, or units. The calculator cannot verify cuff size, rest, movement, rhythm, or device accuracy.

Enter the upper number from the paired reading. Use ordinary decimal digits only.

Enter the lower number from the paired reading. Use ordinary decimal digits only.

Input and display limits are technical calculator safeguards, not healthy, normal, diagnostic, or treatment ranges.

MAP result will appear here

Confirm one paired SBP/DBP reading, then enter systolic and diastolic pressure in mmHg.

The result is a conventional formula estimate, not a measured arterial-waveform MAP, a preferred clinical target, or an automatic normal/abnormal classification.

About

This MAP calculator estimates mean arterial pressure from one paired systolic and diastolic blood-pressure reading using the conventional one-third pulse-pressure formula. [1, 6]

It is a formula estimate whose reliability depends on the source reading—not a measured arterial waveform, a diagnosis, or a treatment target. Cuff, position, movement, rhythm, and device error remain outside the arithmetic. [4, 5]

Formula

MAP formula: DBP + ⅓ × (SBP − DBP). [1, 6]
Equivalent form: (SBP + 2 × DBP) ÷ 3. Pulse pressure = SBP − DBP. [1]
The runtime retains unrounded values; SBP, DBP, pulse pressure, and MAP display to one decimal place.
The fixed one-third model does not switch to a 0.40 coefficient, heart-rate adjustment, waveform integration, or device algorithm. [6, 7, 8]

Interpretation

What is mean arterial pressure (MAP)?

Mean arterial pressure is the average arterial pressure throughout one cardiac cycle. It is distinct from peak systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, pulse pressure, and the simple arithmetic average of SBP and DBP. This page returns the conventional formula estimate rather than directly integrating an arterial waveform. [1]

How to calculate mean arterial pressure from blood pressure

Use MAP = DBP + ⅓(SBP − DBP), equivalently (SBP + 2DBP) ÷ 3. This conventional approximation gives DBP greater weight; it is not (SBP + DBP) ÷ 2. The fixed weighting does not claim that every cardiac cycle spends exactly two thirds of its time in diastole, and accuracy can vary with waveform and heart rate. [1, 6, 8]

MAP vs pulse pressure

MAP is a weighted average-pressure estimate. Pulse pressure is simply SBP minus DBP. This calculator shows pulse pressure only as secondary arithmetic context from the same reading; it does not classify pulse pressure as wide, narrow, normal, or abnormal. [1]

What is a normal mean arterial pressure?

One NCBI/StatPearls educational physiology source describes an adult MAP range of approximately 70–100 mmHg. This is a source-specific teaching reference, not an automatic normal range for every person or setting. Baseline blood pressure, illness, age, pregnancy, chronic hypertension, anesthesia or surgery, neurocritical disease, shock, measurement method, and the purpose of a clinical target can all change interpretation. This calculator does not apply an age-adjusted MAP normal range. [2]

MAP around 60 mmHg is also discussed in physiology literature as an approximate lower level associated with maintaining vital-organ perfusion. It is not a software safety boundary: duration, individual autoregulation, disease context, and whether MAP was estimated or measured all matter. The page does not label MAP at or above 60 as safe or MAP below 60 as dangerous. [1]

Source-specific MAP reference and septic-shock contexts

Source context
Adult physiology teaching reference
What the number means there
Approximately 70–100 mmHg is described as a normal MAP range in one educational source.
Source context
General physiology discussion
What the number means there
About 60 mmHg is discussed as an approximate lower perfusion context, not an automatic safety classification.
Source context
Adults with septic shock
What the number means there
The 2026 Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends an initial MAP target of 65 mmHg over higher targets; certainty is moderate.
Source context
Adults with septic shock age ≥65
What the number means there
The guideline suggests an initial 60–65 mmHg range over higher ranges; certainty is low.

These values answer different questions and do not form a QuickMedCalc grading scale. The guideline notes that maintaining exactly 65 mmHg continuously is not feasible and gives a practical range around the target (for example, about ±5 mmHg). The page does not determine whether septic shock is present or select a target, fluid, vasopressor, dose, or monitoring method. [1, 2, 9, 10, 11]

MAP is not the standard adult hypertension classification

The 2025 AHA/ACC adult high-blood-pressure guideline classifies blood pressure with systolic and diastolic values. For example, normal adult blood pressure requires SBP below 120 and DBP below 80 mmHg; it is not a MAP category. A calculated MAP therefore does not diagnose hypertension, stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension, or a hypertensive emergency. [3]

Calculated MAP vs monitor or arterial-line MAP

This page's fixed formula estimate, a waveform-integrated MAP obtained from pressure over time in a cardiac cycle, and a device-reported MAP produced by monitor-specific processing are related but not interchangeable. Published comparisons show that fixed formulas can differ from brachial waveform-derived values, including individual and activity-related variation. The page does not collect a waveform or reproduce a device algorithm. [6, 7, 8]

Blood-pressure measurement quality

Use SBP and DBP from the same reading in mmHg. Appropriate cuff size, rest, body and arm position, no talking or movement, device validation and calibration, measurement site, rhythm, and repeated readings can affect the source values. Cuff measurements also show variable agreement with intra-arterial references, so this page cannot apply a fixed correction to an individual reading. [4, 5]

Clinical boundaries

This calculator cannot establish organ perfusion, diagnose shock, sepsis, bleeding, or hypertension, or determine fluids, vasopressors, transfusion, monitoring, or another treatment. It does not provide pediatric, pregnancy, surgical, neurocritical, trauma, hemorrhage, chronic-hypertension, or mechanical-support targets. Those populations and decisions require the applicable measurement method, clinical assessment, and specialty reference or protocol.

References

  1. DeMers D, Wachs D. Physiology, Mean Arterial Pressure. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; updated 2026. PMID 30855814. Bookshelf ID NBK538226.
  2. Mount CA, Das JM. Cerebral Perfusion Pressure. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; updated 2023. Bookshelf ID NBK537271.
  3. Jones DW, Ferdinand KC, Taler SJ, et al. 2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. Hypertension. 2025;82(10):e212–e316. PMID 40815242. DOI 10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249.
  4. Muntner P, Shimbo D, Carey RM, et al. Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Hypertension. 2019;73(5):e35–e66. PMID 30827125. PMCID PMC11409525. DOI 10.1161/HYP.0000000000000087.
  5. Picone DS, Schultz MG, Otahal P, et al. Accuracy of Cuff-Measured Blood Pressure: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017;70(5):572–586. PMID 28750701. DOI 10.1016/j.jacc.2017.05.064.
  6. Bos WJW, Verrij E, Vincent HH, et al. How to assess mean blood pressure properly at the brachial artery level. J Hypertens. 2007;25(4):751–755. PMID 17351365. DOI 10.1097/HJH.0b013e32803fb621.
  7. Grillo A, Salvi P, Furlanis G, et al. Mean arterial pressure estimated by brachial pulse wave analysis and comparison with currently used algorithms. J Hypertens. 2020;38(11):2161–2168. PMID 32694334. DOI 10.1097/HJH.0000000000002564.
  8. Kaypakli O, Özgeyik M. The effect of heart rate and pulse pressure on mean arterial pressure: the combined formula for calculation of mean arterial pressure. Blood Press Monit. 2021;26(5):373–379. PMID 34054029. DOI 10.1097/MBP.0000000000000548.
  9. Prescott HC, Antonelli M, Alhazzani W, et al. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2026. Crit Care Med. 2026. DOI 10.1097/CCM.0000000000007075.
  10. Asfar P, Meziani F, Hamel JF, et al. High versus low blood-pressure target in patients with septic shock. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(17):1583–1593. PMID 24635770. DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa1312173.
  11. Lamontagne F, Richards-Belle A, Thomas K, et al. Effect of Reduced Exposure to Vasopressors on 90-Day Mortality in Older Critically Ill Patients With Vasodilatory Hypotension: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2020;323(10):938–949. PMID 32049269. PMCID PMC7064880. DOI 10.1001/jama.2020.0930.

FAQ

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Disclaimer

Educational and informational reference only. Not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or independent verification.