Mild pulmonic stenosis was performed in dogs to evaluate the effect of systolic pressures overloading on the activity and subunits of myosin in the early hypertrophied right ventricle. Three weeks following pulmonary constriction, six hypertrophied dogs were sacrificed and compared to six sham-operated dogs which served as controls. In the right ventricular free wall of hypertrophied right ventricles (HRV), the heart/body weight was 46% greater than that of normal right ventricles (NRV) (p less than 0.01). Myosin ATPase activity (Vmax values) in mumoles phosphate/mg/min, was elevated significantly in the stressed ventricle for both K+ and Ca++ activity in hypertrophied right ventricles. Associated with the increase in myosin activity, there was an increase in proportion of heavy to light chains in myosin from HRV. There were approximately 2 moles of myosin light chains per mole of myosin heavy chains in NRV and approximately 1 mole of myosin light chains per mole of myosin heavy chains in HRV. The proportion of light chain C1 to C2, did not change in myosin from NRV and HRV. Of the C1 light chains, according to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, there was less C1d as compared to C1c in HRV as compared to NRV. Thus K+- and Ca++- activated myosin is elevated in early canine HRV by pressure overload. It is suggested taht the augmented myosin activity is due to a reduction of light chain inhibition of myosin ATPase activity, which appears to result from the slower turnover rate of myosin light chains relative to heavy chains. Furthermore, when myosin light chains are added to hypertrophied right ventricular myosin, the ATPase activity is lowered.