Fifty-seven postoperative cardiac surgical patients receiving intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support were selected for detailed hemodynamic and renal function measurements on the basis of depressed cardiac and/or renal function. Eleven patients developed acute renal failure while receiving maximal IABP support and 10 during, or after withdrawal of IABP support. To define further the relationship between IABP support and renal function, 17 patients underwent simultaneous assessment of hemodynamic and renal function under varying conditions of IABP support. These studies, performed just before IABP withdrawal, demonstrated slight, clinically insignificant, improvement in hemodynamic and renal function with increased IABP support. Arterial pressure recordings, performed above and below the intra-aortic balloon in 8 patients, revealed no significant pressure gradient across the balloon whether single- or double-chambered. In addition, the balloon pulse waveform was always evident in the femoral artery. Importantly, the intra-aortic balloon did not interfere demonstrably with renal function, nor did it decrease renal perfusion pressure, in spite of its suprarenal position. Therefore, improvement in systemic perfusion from IABP support in the early postoperative period will result in improved renal perfusion.