Rs. Richardson et al., TRANSIENT GLOBAL AMNESIA - A COMPLICATION OF INCREMENTAL EXERCISE TESTING, Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 30(10), 1998, pp. 403-405
Incremental exercise testing is routinely used for diagnosis, rehabili
tation, health screening, and research. We report the case of a 71-yr-
old patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who suff
ered an episode of transient global amnesia (TGA) several minutes afte
r successfully completing an incremental exercise test on a cycle ergo
meter. TGA, which is known to be precipitated by physical or emotional
stress in about one-third of cases, is a transient neurological disor
der in which memory impairment is the prominent deficit. TGA has a ben
ign course and requires no treatment although 24-h observation is reco
mmended. Recognition of TGA as a potential complication of incremental
graded exercise testing is important to both aid diagnosis of the amn
esia and to spare a patient unnecessary evaluation.