Mean arterial pressure (MAP): an alternative and preferable measurement to systolic blood pressure (SBP) in patients for hypotension detection during hemapheresis.

Current protocols utilize systolic blood pressure (SBP) of less than 80 mmHg as objective evidence of hypotension during hemapheresis. However, tissue hypoperfusion is the pathophysiologic endpoint of low blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure (MAP), rather than SBP, is the physiologic driving force behind blood flow to organs and tissues. It is thus hypothesized that MAP is more appropriate than SBP in the assessment of hypotension and that a threshold MAP can be utilized as a sensitive indicator of hypotension during hemapheresis.