Normal MAP range: what is a good mean arterial pressure?
Mean arterial pressure has no guideline range of its own, but its value follows directly from the blood pressure reading, and a few numbers matter in practice. Here is the MAP of common adult readings, why 65 mmHg is the line in septic shock and surgery, and why MAP and systolic pressure can point in different directions.
What is a normal MAP range?
A normal MAP range is not defined by any guideline. The 2025 AHA/ACC guideline on high blood pressure in adults classifies a reading by its systolic and diastolic values, into normal, elevated, stage 1 and stage 2, and sets no categories for mean arterial pressure. A normal MAP is therefore best read from the blood pressure it comes from, using MAP = DBP + (SBP − DBP) ÷ 3. Any resting reading in the AHA/ACC normal category, below 120/80 mmHg, gives a MAP below 93.3 mmHg: 110/70 mmHg gives 83.3 mmHg and 100/65 mmHg gives 76.7 mmHg. The thresholds for the two hypertension stages, 130/80 and 140/90 mmHg, give MAPs of 96.7 and 106.7 mmHg. At the low end, the numbers that matter come from critical care rather than from hypertension guidelines: 65 mmHg is the initial target in septic shock, and the Surviving Sepsis Campaign places the level below which organ perfusion falls at about 60 mmHg.
| Reading (mmHg) | MAP (mmHg) | 2025 AHA/ACC category |
|---|---|---|
| 90/60 | 70.0 | Normal (below 120/80) |
| 100/65 | 76.7 | Normal |
| 110/70 | 83.3 | Normal |
| 119/79 | 92.3 | Normal |
| 125/75 | 91.7 | Elevated (120 to 129 and below 80) |
| 130/80 | 96.7 | Stage 1 (130 to 139 or 80 to 89) |
| 140/90 | 106.7 | Stage 2 (140 or more, or 90 or more) |
| 160/100 | 120.0 | Stage 2 |
The table shows why MAP does not map neatly onto the categories: 125/75 mmHg is elevated, yet its MAP of 91.7 mmHg is lower than the 92.3 mmHg of 119/79 mmHg, which is normal. Enter any reading in the mean arterial pressure calculator to see its MAP, pulse pressure and category.
Why a MAP of 65 mmHg matters
A MAP of 65 mmHg is the most widely used number in acute care because two major documents build on it. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2021 guideline recommends an initial MAP target of 65 mmHg over higher targets for adults with septic shock on vasopressors, a strong recommendation based on moderate-quality evidence. Its rationale explains that MAP is a key determinant of mean systemic filling pressure, the main driver of venous return and cardiac output, and that although the brain and kidneys can autoregulate their blood flow, MAPs below about 60 mmHg are associated with decreased organ perfusion. Sepsis-3 uses the same line in its definition of septic shock: sepsis with a vasopressor requirement to keep MAP at 65 mmHg or more and a serum lactate above 2 mmol/L despite adequate fluid resuscitation, a combination linked to hospital mortality above 40%. The SOFA score sits just above it, giving 1 cardiovascular point for any MAP below 70 mmHg.
The trials behind the target found no survival gain from aiming higher. SEPSISPAM randomised 776 patients with septic shock to MAP targets of 65 to 70 or 80 to 85 mmHg: 28-day mortality was 34.0% and 36.6%, 90-day mortality 42.3% and 43.8%, and new atrial fibrillation was more common with the higher target. The guideline notes that in the subgroup with chronic hypertension, the higher target came with a 10.5% absolute reduction in renal replacement therapy. The 65 trial randomised patients aged 65 or older with vasodilatory hypotension to a MAP of 60 to 65 mmHg or usual care; the groups reached mean MAPs of 66.7 and 72.6 mmHg, and 90-day mortality among 2,463 analysed patients was 41.0% and 43.8%, a difference that was not significant. Outside sepsis, Salmasi and colleagues found that an intraoperative MAP below 65 mmHg was progressively associated with kidney and myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery, and that a relative fall from the patient's baseline predicted these no better than the absolute threshold.
MAP vs systolic pressure
MAP and systolic pressure describe different parts of the same pressure wave, and they can disagree. Systolic pressure is the peak of each beat. Mean arterial pressure is the average over the whole cycle, and because diastole lasts about two-thirds of a resting cycle, the formula weights diastolic pressure twice as heavily as systolic pressure. Two patients with the same systolic pressure can therefore have very different MAPs: 100/40 mmHg gives a MAP of 60 mmHg, below the septic shock target, while 100/70 mmHg gives 80 mmHg. The reverse also happens. A reading of 150/45 mmHg, with a wide pulse pressure of 105 mmHg, has a MAP of 80 mmHg, exactly the same as 100/70 mmHg. Scores reflect the difference. qSOFA counts a systolic pressure of 100 mmHg or less as a bedside warning sign, whereas the SOFA score and the Sepsis-3 definition of septic shock both use MAP, the measure the Surviving Sepsis Campaign links to organ perfusion.
The one-third rule is itself an approximation that fits a resting heart best. At faster heart rates systole fills more of each cycle and the formula underestimates the true mean. In shock, the Surviving Sepsis Campaign adds that cuff readings tend to be inaccurate and suggests invasive arterial pressure monitoring as soon as practical. The MAP calculator page covers the corrected formulas.
Worked examples: reading a MAP
Four adult readings show how to calculate a MAP and read it against the reference points. A patient with septic shock on vasopressors has a pressure of 88/52 mmHg. The pulse pressure is 36 mmHg, one-third of that is 12, and the MAP is 52 + 12 = 64 mmHg, just below the 65 mmHg initial target. A second patient reads 100/50 mmHg: a pulse pressure of 50 mmHg, a third of it 16.7, and a MAP of 66.7 mmHg, which meets the 65 mmHg target but is under 70 mmHg and so scores 1 cardiovascular point in the SOFA score. An older patient at rest reads 150/45 mmHg, with a pulse pressure of 105 mmHg and a MAP of 80 mmHg, which is comfortably above every acute care threshold even though the systolic pressure is in the stage 2 range. A fourth reading, 126/84 mmHg, gives a MAP of 98 mmHg and is stage 1 hypertension because the diastolic pressure is 80 to 89.
| Reading (mmHg) | Pulse pressure | MAP | Against the reference points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88/52 | 36 | 64.0 | Below the 65 mmHg septic shock target |
| 100/50 | 50 | 66.7 | Meets 65; below 70, so 1 SOFA cardiovascular point |
| 150/45 | 105 | 80.0 | Above 70; stage 2 by its systolic pressure |
| 126/84 | 42 | 98.0 | Above 70; stage 1 by its diastolic pressure |
Enter each reading in the mean arterial pressure calculator to check the same numbers.
Questions
What is a good MAP?
No guideline sets one. A resting reading below 120/80 mmHg, the AHA/ACC normal category, gives a MAP below 93.3 mmHg. In septic shock the initial target is 65 mmHg.
Is a MAP of 60 too low?
It is below the 65 mmHg septic shock target, and the Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2021 guideline states that MAPs below about 60 mmHg are associated with decreased organ perfusion.
Is a MAP of 100 high?
MAP alone does not say. 130/85 mmHg and 160/70 mmHg both give a MAP of 100 mmHg, but the first is stage 1 and the second stage 2 hypertension. Blood pressure is graded on systolic and diastolic values.
Do these numbers apply to children?
No. The 60, 65 and 70 mmHg reference points and the AHA/ACC categories here are for adults.
Can AskMed explain MAP targets with sources?
Yes. AskMed answers from guidelines such as the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, citing each claim, and does not give doses. It is on the App Store and Google Play, or use it on the web.
Sources
- 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. doi:10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249 - Evans L, Rhodes A, Alhazzani W, et al. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021. Intensive Care Med. 2021;47(11):1181–1247. doi:10.1007/s00134-021-06506-y
- Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour CW, et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA. 2016;315(8):801–810. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0287
- Vincent JL, Moreno R, Takala J, et al. The SOFA (Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment) score to describe organ dysfunction/failure. Intensive Care Med. 1996;22(7):707–710. doi:10.1007/BF01709751
- 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. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1312173
- 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. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.0930
- Salmasi V, Maheshwari K, Yang D, et al. Relationship between intraoperative hypotension, defined by either reduction from baseline or absolute thresholds, and acute kidney and myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort analysis. Anesthesiology. 2017;126(1):47–65. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000001432
- Razminia M, Trivedi A, Molnar J, et al. Validation of a new formula for mean arterial pressure calculation: the new formula is superior to the standard formula. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2004;63(4):419–425. doi:10.1002/ccd.20217
