Thirteen patients were entered into a protocol to assess the safety and efficacy of enalapril (MK 421), 5 to 20 mg b.i.d., and hydrochlorothiazide, 50 to 100 mg daily, for the treatment of renovascular hypertension. Specifically monitored were the effects of therapy on blood pressure and pulse, renal function, and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis. Enalapril and hydrochlorothiazide therapy produced excellent control of blood pressure with no adverse side effects. After approximately 8 weeks of therapy, renal vascular resistance was decreased and no adverse effects on glomerular filtration rate or renal blood flow were noted, except in one patient with a functional unilateral stenotic kidney. Patients receiving enalapril and hydrochlorothiazide showed stimulation of plasma renin activity and suppression of plasma angiotensin II, although the initial degree of suppression was not sustained in all patients during prolonged therapy. Although plasma aldosterone concentration was initially suppressed, the degree of suppression was not sustained. Nine patients have been followed for an additional 6 months; none have experienced further progression of renal disease, as assessed by repeated measurements of glomerular filtration and effective renal plasma flow. These results suggest that combined enalapril and hydrochlorothiazide therapy is safe and effective in the medical management of renovascular hypertension and that blood pressure control may be achieved in the absence of sustained interruption of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.