Mean Arterial Pressure
Calculator

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) represents the average pressure in your arteries during one complete heartbeat cycle, calculated approximately as diastolic pressure plus one-third of the pulse pressure (the difference between systolic and diastolic). It's considered a better indicator of blood flow to organs than either systolic or diastolic pressure alone.

The heart spends roughly two-thirds of each cardiac cycle in diastole (relaxation) and only about one-third in systole (contraction), so the average pressure over time is weighted more toward the diastolic value. This is reflected in the one-third/two-thirds weighting used in the standard formula.

A MAP between roughly 70 and 100 mmHg is generally considered adequate to maintain blood flow to vital organs in a healthy adult at rest. Hospitals often target a minimum MAP of around 65 mmHg in critically ill patients to ensure adequate organ perfusion.

MAP is used clinically because it better reflects actual tissue perfusion pressure than systolic or diastolic values alone, making it a key metric for managing patients in shock, on ventilators, or receiving blood pressure medications in intensive care. It directly guides decisions like fluid administration or vasopressor dosing in these settings.

MAP is mainly a clinical and research tool rather than something typically monitored at home, since standard home blood pressure monitors and guidelines are built around systolic and diastolic readings. This calculator is useful for understanding or cross-checking a value reported by a clinician, not for routine self-monitoring.