Forty patients developed low cardiac output states after surgery for mitral valve disease or with associated cardiac disease and were randomly allocated to two treatment groups, one group to receive Dobutamine (D) and the other Enoximone (E), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. Haemodynamic assessment covered a 24 hour period but treatment was continued for as long as was necessary. An improvement was observed from the 15th minute of treatment. At the second hour, the cardiac index had increased by 55% in Group E and by 59% in Group D whilst the heart rate increased by only 12% in Group E compared to 30% in Group D. The right and left heart filling pressures decreased by 25 to 27% in the 2 groups. The systemic arterial resistances fell by 36 to 37% without any significant changes in systemic or pulmonary arterial pressures. No significant difference was demonstrated in the haemodynamic responses to Dobutamine and Enoximone in this study. The duration of treatment was significantly shorter in Group E than in Group D (59 +/- 22 hrs vs 86 +/- 49 hrs) as was the patient's stay in the intensive care unit (92 +/- 37 hrs vs 155 +/- 129 hrs). The duration of assisted ventilation was the same in the two groups. These results suggest that Enoximone is as effective as Dobutamine in the treatment of low cardiac output after mitral valve surgery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)