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Calculating the MAP
December 8, 2011 17:45 by Lisa Bonsall, MSN, RN, CRNP
MAP, or mean arterial pressure, is defined as the average pressure in a patients 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).
To calculate a 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 patients blood pressure is
83 mm Hg/50 mm Hg, his 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 65 mm Hg. Also, in patients with head injury or stroke,
treatment may be dependent on the patients MAP.
In what other clinical situations do you monitor MAP?
References
Surviving Sepsis Campaign. Accessed December 8, 2011.
Smeltzer, S. C., Bare, B. G., Hinkle, J. L., & Cheever, K. H. (2010). Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical
Nursing, Twelfth Edition. Philadelpha: Wolters Kluwer Health/ Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Tags: mean arterial pressure, map, shock, sepsis, septic shock
Categories: Clinical topics | Nursing school
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