In medicine, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) is an average calculated blood pressure in an individual during a single cardiac cycle.

A similar method is to use a oscillometric blood pressure device that works by a cuff only method where a microprocessor determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

[6] Invasively, an arterial catheter with a transducer is placed and the mean pressure is determined by the subsequent waveform.

While MAP can only be measured directly by invasive monitoring, it can be estimated by using a formula in which the lower (diastolic) blood pressure is doubled and added to the higher (systolic) blood pressure and that composite sum then is divided by 3 to estimate MAP.

[5] Another way to find the MAP is to use the systemic vascular resistance equated (

is the change in pressure across the systemic circulation from its beginning to its end and

is the flow through the vasculature (equal to cardiac output).

for elevated heart rates use: Where The version of the MAP equation multiplying 0.412 by pulse pressure and adding diastolic blood is indicated to correlate better than other versions of the equation with left ventricular hypertrophy, carotid wall thickness and aortic stiffness.

where: For young patients with congenital heart disease a slight alteration to the factor used found to be more precise.

where: This added precision means cerebral blood flow can be more accurately maintained in uncontrolled hypertension.

[13] For neonates, because of their altered physiology, a different formula has been proposed for a more precise reading:

where: It has also been suggested that when getting readings from a neonates radial arterial line, mean arterial pressure can be approximated by averaging the systolic and diastolic pressure.

[14] Other formulas used to estimate mean arterial pressure are:

MAP levels greater than 90 mmHg increase the risk stepwise of having higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, and mortality.

[3] When assessing hypotension, the context of the baseline blood pressure needs to be considered.

Acute decreases in mean arterial pressure of around 25% put people at increased risk for organ damage and potential mortality.

[19] Even one minute at a MAP of 50 mmHg, or accumulative effects over short periods, increases the risk of mortality by 5%, and can result in organ failure or complications.

[20][21] In people hospitalized with shock, a MAP of 65 mmHg lasting for more than two hours was associated with higher mortality.

[22] In people with sepsis, the vasopressor dosage may be titrated on the basis of estimated MAP.

Both are used as targets for assessing sepsis, major trauma, stroke, and intracranial bleeding.

[23] In younger people, elevated MAP is used more commonly than pulse pressure in the prediction of stroke.

However in older people, MAP is less predictive of stroke and a better predictor of cardiovascular disease.