Plasma renin activity (PRA) and noradrenaline concentration (NA) were measured in the renal veins (V) and arterial blood (A) in 30 patients investigated for renin-mediated hypertension. Both PRA and NA concentrations in arterial blood were above our reference limits and they were positively correlated. In 18 of the patients renin secretion was unilateral from the diseased side. Their renal vein NA concentration was always higher on that side, compared to the contralateral one, but there were V-A gradients for NA on both sides in all but two cases. In 15 of the patients with such lateralisation of renin secretion the changes of PRA and NA V-A gradients were determined 30-60 min after an i.v. injection of dihydralazine. Both PRA and NA increased more markedly in the renal vein on the affected side where the estimated renal plasma flow was lower than on the contralateral side. The NA gradients increased less than the PRA gradients when changes on the renin secreting side were compared in patients with proven increase of renin secretion. We conclude that patients with renal hypertension have a high sympathetic nervous activity as evidenced by increased plasma NA concentrations and (V-A) gradients for NA on both sides. The release of NA into the renal circulation in renin mediated hypertension is thus not invariably accompanied by renin release. The higher renal vein NA concentration on the involved renin secreting side is explained by reduced RPF on this side.