An 86-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of chest pain after a heated argument with her daughter. Electrocardiogram showed ST-segment elevation in leads V2-3 and T wave inversion in leads V3-6. Emergency cardiac catheterization was performed 2 h after the onset of chest pain. Coronary angiography showed no significant coronary artery disease. However, left ventriculography showed apical akinesis and basal hyperkinesis (ejection fraction = 42%). She was diagnosed as having tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy. Follow-up left ventriculography showed marked improvement of the left ventricular function (ejection fraction = 74%) during only 41 h. She was discharged 3 days later. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.