We measured increments of peripheral venous pressure induced by dynamic leg exercise (delta VP) in 10 healthy subjects (Group C) and 70 patients with heart diseases which primarily affect the left-side of the heart. None of the subjects showed apparent symptoms of left- or right-sided heart failure. The patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of delta VP, namely, Group N (delta VP less than 35 mmH2O, n = 30, normal reaction) and Group H (delta VP greater than or equal to 35 mmH2O, n = 40, abnormal reaction). We measured the increments of plasma concentrations of noradrenaline (delta NAPH) and adrenaline (delta APH) with infusion of phentolamine (PH). Parallel studies with nitroglycerin and prazosin supplied strong evidence that delta NAPH was brought about mainly by the blockade of alpha 2-receptors at the sympathetic nerve terminals. Thus, we estimated the degree of sympathetic nerve activity from the central nervous system by opening using PH the negative feed-back loop for noradrenaline (NA) release at the sympathetic nerve terminals, and this degree of sympathetic nerve activity was compared with the degree of delta VP. The results obtained were 1) there was a rough overall correlation between delta VP and delta NAPH in the subjects of Groups C, N and H, and 2) delta NAPH was significantly higher in Group H than in Groups C and N. These results suggest that much reliance can be placed on the measured increment of plasma NA concentration in response to the administration of PH in assessing the degree of enhanced sympathetic nerve activity in the patients with "latent" left-sided heart failure.