Katie Couric diagnosed with temporary amnesia in ‘freaky’ health scare: What is it? | KAMR
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(NewsNation) — Veteran journalist Katie Couric is getting candid about a “freaky” health scare that occurred last month.
“This was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious,” Couric said in a Substack post titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” discussing the health scare. “Ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Couric went on to detail what led up to her being diagnosed with temporary amnesia after a health incident that mimicked a stroke.
What causes a stroke? Learn the triggers and risk factors
The former “Today” anchor said she was headed to a farmer’s market in Aspen on June 27 to pick up coffee.
“I bought some beautiful peaches and nectarines, a big bag of kettle corn and a cute straw hat I really didn’t need,” Couric wrote. “I headed back, ate a bowl of cereal with one of the peaches, and got dressed for an afternoon at the Aspen Ideas Festival.”
‘That’s the last thing I remember’
The “Going There” author was scheduled to speak at two panels at the event, adding, “I decided to wear a white linen suit, a navy and white knit sleeveless shirt, and my new hat.”
Couric and her husband, financier John Molner, drove to the Aspen Institute, recalling that she was excited to eat hot dogs at a lunch stand on the campus. She wrote, “That’s the last thing I remember.”
Journalist Katie Couric and her husband John Molner attend the Friars Club Entertainment Icon Award ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on November 12, 2018, in New York City. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
The two headed to the hospital after Molner and one of Couric’s interns noticed she was “out of it” after she spoke on the panels.
“I have no idea what we talked about or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
At the hospital, doctors asked Couric about the date and who the president was.
“I got them wrong,” she said. “I wasn’t sure of the month. I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president.”
The “60 Minutes” alum added that she couldn’t even remember that she had a newborn granddaughter, Virginia.
What is transient global amnesia
Medical staff initiated a “stroke protocol” on Couric, Molner explained in the piece. However, her MRI showed that wasn’t the case.
Couric’s neurologist diagnosed her with transient global amnesia (TGA), which “is a sudden, temporary loss of the ability to form new memories,” Couric’s doctor, David Perlmutter, told her for Katie Couric Media.
“A person is awake, alert, knows who they are, recognizes family members, and can carry on a conversation, but they can’t remember what just happened a few minutes ago.”
It’s not entirely clear what causes TGA. Some researchers say it could be due to a temporary issue with the hippocampus, a part of your brain that helps with learning and memory, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It could also be linked to a history of migraines or a problem with blood flow, the Mayo Clinic explains.
Physical or emotional stress, sexual activity, and “sudden immersion in cold or hot water” are among the common triggers of TGA, SIU Medicine reports. The condition rarely happens more than once, if at all.
Benign transient amnesia, a type of TGA, can occur after consuming too much alcohol or using large doses of barbiturates, several recreational drugs, or small doses of benzodiazepines, the Mayo Clinic adds.
Though health experts agree it can be jarring, there do not appear to be any long-term impacts related to TGA.
