Koch Rushed to Hospital; Neurological Cause Probed

NEW YORK — Mayor Edward I. Koch was rushed to the hospital today after complaining of nausea, dizziness and slurred speech, and doctors said he may be suffering from a neurological disorder caused by a shortage of oxygen to the brain.

Koch, 62, was listed in good condition at Lenox Hill Hospital, but doctors said his speech is still slurred.

The mayor had just left a breakfast discussion of AIDS sponsored by the New York Post at the Sheraton Centre Hotel when he became ill, according to George Arzt, his press secretary.

Dr. Anthony Mustalish, the hospital’s chief of emergency services, said doctors are not sure what caused Koch’s symptoms.

An electrocardiogram showed that Koch’s heart was normal, and doctors are considering the possibility he suffered from an ailment known as TIA--transient ischemia attack--in which a diminished flow of oxygen to the brain produces minor neurological disorders.

“This does not mean it’s a mini-stroke,” Mustalish said. “It’s temporary. A stroke implies more permanent blood vessel damage” while TIA is “totally reversible,” he said.

But he emphasized that Koch’s malady remains a mystery: “It could be due to a hundred different things.”

The mayor, he said, is alert and comfortable and “he is currently working with us to determine a cause.”

Koch will be kept at the hospital at least a day, he said.

Arzt said Koch was being driven from the hotel to an appointment in Harlem shortly after 10 a.m. when he complained of feeling sick.

Koch had held a news conference immediately after the AIDS conference and had appeared healthy.

“The mayor complained of dizziness and nausea, and it appeared his speech was slurred,” said Tom Kelly, a mayoral spokesman.

Finally the mayor tapped one of his bodyguards on the shoulder, said, “I feel my speech is slowed. . . . Let’s go to Lenox Hill (Hospital),” according to Arzt, who was in the car with Koch. “We turned around and went to the hospital.”