Systemic Vascular Resistance

What is this formula?

Systemic Vascular Resistance (SVR) quantifies the resistance encountered by blood as it flows through the systemic circulation. It is a key parameter for evaluating vascular tone and cardiovascular function.

When to use it

Use this formula in critical care, shock assessment, vasopressor management, and advanced hemodynamic monitoring.

Example

Data:

MAP = 90 mmHg

CVP = 5 mmHg

CO = 5.0 L/min

Formula:

SVR = ((MAP − CVP) × 80) / CO

Substitution:

SVR = ((90 − 5) × 80) / 5.0

Result:

SVR = 1360 dyn·s/cm⁵

Applications

- Shock classification

- Vasopressor therapy management

- Hemodynamic monitoring

- Cardiovascular assessment

- Critical care medicine

Note

Systemic Vascular Resistance is a derived hemodynamic parameter based on an electrical-circuit analogy of the circulatory system. It provides a useful approximation of vascular tone but does not fully capture the complex behavior of blood vessels and blood flow in vivo.