The hypothesis was tested that the median values of survivors of h'fe-threatening postoperative conditions, rather than the norms of unstressed healthy volunteers, are the appropriate therapeutic goals for critically ill postoperative patients. The authors studied prospectively a series of 100 consecutive critically ill postoperative patients; normal values were used as the therapeutic goals of the control patients, while the median values of survivors were used as the goals of therapy for the protocol group. The age, sex, primary illness, surgical operation, lowest mean arterial pressure (MAP), time in hypotension incidence of severe hypotension (MAP < 50 mm Hg), and presence of associated severe medical illnesses (defined by predetermined criteria) were comparable in the control and protocol groups; i.e., clinical conditions of the protocol group were at least as severe as those of the control group. The mortality was significantly less in the protocol group (13%) than in the control group (48%); the number of life-threatening complications were also greater in the control group. These data suggest that the cardiorespiratory pattern of survivors are the appropriate goals of therapy for critically ill patients.