Cerebral Perfusion Pressure Calculator

Welcome to the cerebral perfusion pressure calculator! 🧠

Have you or your loved ones ever experienced a stroke, brain trauma, brain tumor or other cerebral abnormalities? Perhaps you're a medical practitioner who has encountered these cases before. When these unfortunate cases occur, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is an extremely important factor to monitor. Are you curious about why CPP is so important?

The cerebral perfusion pressure calculator is here to help you determine whether or not the brain is getting enough oxygen and nutrients based on the cerebral pressure gradient; with the input of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and intracranial pressure (ICP). Let's learn how to calculate the medical cerebral perfusion pressure.

If you are eager to know more, this article will tell you more about:

• What is cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP)?
• How to calculate CPP with the cerebral perfusion pressure formula.
• Why is the CPP of the brain so important?
• What is a normal CPP range?

We try our best to make our Omni Calculators as precise and reliable as possible. However, this tool can never replace a professional doctor's assessment.

CPP is the medical acronym for cerebral perfusion pressure. Also known as cerebral blood pressure or central perfusion pressure, it measures whether the brain is well-oxygenated and nourished adequately. To be more specific, it is the net pressure needed to maintain the right amount of blood flow in the brain.

Basically, CPP can be explained in a much clearer way, considering what is needed to calculate it. Here is the cerebral perfusion pressure formula:

where:

🧠⬆️​​​ Mean arterial pressure (MAP) — The pressure that pumps blood flow into the brain via arterial blood vessels.

🧠​⬇️ Intracranial pressure (ICP) — The pressure that keeps blood flow out of the brain, or in other words, 'balances' out the MAP input. This is the pressure within the skull that comes from cerebrospinal fluid, brain tissue, and intracranial blood vessels.

Hence, the imbalance of these two factors will mainly affect the brain in two main ways:

• MAP is too high or ICP is too low — The CPP will increase. The brain will be at risk of intracranial hypertension, brain herniation, and, in worst cases, stroke.
• MAP is too low or ICP is too high — The CPP will decrease. Risk of brain ischemia, or lack of oxygen supply, causing the death of brain cells.

It can be confusing to interpret the increase or decrease of CPP. If you are still wondering about "What is a normal cerebral perfusion pressure?", check out the section dedicated to the medical thresholds of CPP.

Considering that the brain is one of the most important organs in the body, we can all agree that brain injuries and abnormalities can be very life-threatening.

Cerebral perfusion pressure can be a major indicator of the brain's homeostasis. Hence, measuring and monitoring CPP is extremely important in the diagnosis and treatment procedures of patients with intracranial abnormalities.

Here are some conditions that need CPP monitoring:

• Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  • Brain herniation and brain stem compression.

  • Intracranial hemorrhage or bleeding is mostly present; visit our ICH volume calculator and intracerebral hemorrhage calculator to find out more.

  • High blood pressure and brain bleeding​ can be detrimental and deadly. The ICP will increase to regulate the high MAP, and vice versa, causing the pressure in the brain to increase significantly.

  • This hematoma, combined with the change in brain pressure, can destroy brain tissue and might also lead to temporary or permanent loss of certain brain functions like speech or movements.

• Brain tumors

  • Management of CPP is also important during neurosurgical procedures to remove a brain tumor, preventing secondary injuries from surgery.

• Hemodynamic distress

  • Monitoring CPP of patients with unstable cerebral blood flow can prevent ischemia or insufficient blood supply to the brain due to distress.

• Intensive care unit (ICU) management

  • The CPP of patients in the ICU neurosurgical ward needs to be closely monitored to ensure their conditions are stable.

Are you still wondering how you can calculate the cerebral perfusion pressure? Calculating CPP is a piece of cake, especially now that you have come across the cerebral perfusion pressure calculator. You simply subtract ICP from MAP.

Here are some easy steps to use the cerebral perfusion pressure calculator:

1. Select your age, or the age of the patient whose CPP you want to calculate.

2. Input the mean arterial pressure (MAP) of the patient in mmHg.

3. If you don't know the MAP value, click on the check box "I don't know the mean arterial pressure (MAP)". You can then input the measured systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of the patient. The CPP calculator will automatically calculate MAP for you.

4. Input the intracranial pressure (ICP) value measured by your healthcare professional. This needs to be measured with advanced medical equipment and can only be done by specialized medical personnel.

5. That's about it! The CPP calculator generates the outcomes based on a basic analysis of the patient's condition. The results can vary based on the selected age groups.

Based on research conducted by Baxter B. Allen et al. in 2014, the outcomes indicated that the normal range of cerebral perfusion pressure can slightly differ among age groups as shown in the table below:

Additionally, since we know the CPP in the brain is determined based on MAP and ICP, there are also normal ranges of these two factors:

• Normal ICP range
  • 2-5 mmHg in newborns
  • 5-10 mmHg in children (<8 years old)
  • 7-15 mmHg in adults (8 years and older)
  • up to 18 mmHg in obese patients
• Normal MAP range
  • 50-80 mmHg in young children
  • 50-90 mmHg in school children
  • 60-95 mmHg in adolescents
  • 70-100 mmHg in adults