Documentation of early improvement of left ventricular function in tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy.

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.