France’s Sarkozy faints while jogging, gets tested

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy fainted while jogging Sunday on a hot afternoon at a presidential residence outside the capital and was hospitalized for medical tests, the country’s health minister said.

French Health Ministry Roselyne Bachelot said Sarkozy’s vasovagal episode was “small” and she was sure he managed to still watch the final leg of the Tour de France cycling race.

A vagal episode can be caused by strenuous exercise when it is very hot. It can lead to a temporary loss of consciousness but usually is not serious. It is named for the vagus nerve which slows down the heartbeat and reduces arterial tension.

The Le Parisien newspaper on its Web site quoted Claude Gueant, the secretary-general of the Elysee Palace, as saying Sarkozy’s illness was over quickly.

“The president is completely conscious. His illness did not last a long time,” Gueant said in the newspaper interview. Gueant, who was not with the French leader at the time, indicated that Sarkozy had been inanimate for an unspecified amount of time but he “had regained consciousness. “

Gueant said Sarkozy had been jogging with his bodyguards on the grounds of the Lanterne pavilion, a hunting lodge at Versailles palace used by French presidents. Temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit) at Versailles on Sunday afternoon.

France 2 television said Sarkozy was hospitalized for tests at the Val-de-Grace military hospital in Paris.

Earlier, the Elysee Palace had issued a statement saying that Sarkozy “felt faint” Sunday while exercising and his personal doctor immediately took charge and ordered medical tests. Elysee officials would not comment further on the telephone.

Sarkozy, 54, was elected in 2007. He is regularly seen running and is a cycling enthusiast. He last underwent a medical examination July 3, when his cardiovascular and blood tests were normal, the Elysee’s medical service said.

His first medical bulletin issued shortly after his 2007 election said Sarkozy’s health was “good” and compatible with his presidential duties.

During his presidential campaign, Sarkozy campaigned for greater transparency on presidential health bulletins. Several previous French presidents regularly concealed health problems from the public. President Francois Mitterrand kept his prostate cancer secret and had ordered his doctor to falsify his health bulletins for years.

However, Sarkozy’s short hospital stay for a throat problem in the fall of 2007 was revealed only three months later.