President Sarkozy taken to hospital

There are conflicting reports coming from different sources  on whether or not Sarkozy actually fainted while jogging, but he was transported by helicopter to a military hospital after “feeling faint” at the end of his nearly one hour long run.

An official stated that the 54 year-old president, suffered a minor vasovagal episode - a loss of consciousness which can be provoked by such causes as hyperthermia, dehydration or stress. The vagal nerve is a major nerve that runs from the abdomen to the brain and controls several functions.

 

Professor Xavier Jouven, a cardiologist at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, said such episodes were caused by a fall in arterial pressure and heartbeat frequency. "The two together mean you get less blood going to the head, you don't feel well and you need to lie down," he said.

"It's benign, it's frequent and it's common with sportsman just as they end their physical effort."

Claude Gueant, general secretary of Mr Sarkozy's private office, said the president was "well' and "talking normally with carers" at the hospital, which was cordoned off by a police.

"He's okay, he's hungry, he's complaining," said Patrick Balkany, a member of Mr Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement.